Flipped
by SkylaGirl108
Summary: Four American teenagers aren't too excited about their homeless lives, where all they have to look forward to is the smell of cigarettes, the sound of cars, and each other's company. One accident under the blue moon sends them into the world of Fiore, where they discover Fairy Tail, and their lives are completely flipped around. Turns out they'e in for one wild ride! T for language
1. Chapter 1: The End

**I'm baaa-aaack. x3**

**Yes, I realize I have been MIA in the writing world for, like, a year now? Yeah, it's been suuuuuuper busy, and the internet was being a buttnugget.**

**Anyway, you probably don't want to read much of my blabbering, so i'll cut right to the chase. This is chapter one of a fanfiction based on the anime Fairy Tail (DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail or any aspect of it) and is just something i came up with one night while eating instant ramen. **

**Also, I do realize that chapter one is titled "The End". That was on purpose. xD**

**So yeah. Here ya go! ^w^**

* * *

Chapter 1: The End

This story begins with a face-full of muddy water.  
I sputtered, wiping the muck out of my eyes and glaring at the perpetrator. "Hey! What was that for?"  
Kaita smiled. "Aw, come on. It's just a little muddy water. Don't be such a -"  
I replied by splashing her with "a little muddy water". Though, personally, I think it was more mud than water.  
For a moment, she just stood in shock. Then, after calmly squeezing some moisture out of her light blue ponytail, she grinned cheerfully. "You are so going to get it now."  
In one smooth movement, she glided close enough that I couldn't kick her, chambering her left hand and began to swing an uppercut with her right.  
In response, I low-blocked her right hand with my left, immediately catching it in a wrist lock and pulling before reaching behind her neck to catch her in a headlock.  
I thought I had her, but Kaita was crafty, and locked her left leg behind my right. By turning to her left sharply, she was pushing me onto the floor.  
She pushed; I pulled. Ultimately, we both ended up giggling in a mud puddle. No surprise there.  
"Could you two be any more immature?"  
Oh yeah, I forgot. I have two other friends, Dawn and Dusk; affectionately dubbed "The Twins". Dawn is three minutes older than Dusk.  
At least, that's what Dawn says, anyway. We can't ask their parent, seeing as he's serving a life sentence in jail for who knows what.  
At least they have a parent, I guess.  
_But we don't talk about that._  
Anyway, the Twins were staring at us with their bright green eyes, smirking, "I mean, seriously, you two are always wrestling or sparring or something."  
Kaita got up, grinning. "Not all the time!" She held a hand out to me.  
I took it, pulling myself to my feet. "Yeah, what about the last time we went to Walmart?"  
Dawn leaned against the tree. "You tried fencing with the leeks," she sighed.  
"The old guy at the door kicked us out, remember?" Dusk added.  
"We went to the beach last Saturday-" Kaita countered.  
"- When you played dodge ball with giant crabs." The twins interrupted simultaneously.  
I grinned. "Sparring is kinda fun. You should try it sometime."  
"No way. They'd never be as good at it as we are." Kaita rolled her eyes. Her dog tag flashed silver in the foggy afternoon light, high contrast to her jet black tank top and camouflage cargo pants. Good clothes were hard to come by when you live on the street.  
Dawn shrugged, her curly fox-red hair bouncing.  
The only way to tell the difference between the twins was the length of their hair (Dawn's was shoulder-length and curly, Dusk's was short and spiky) and their figures, seeing as Dawn was a girl and Dusk was a boy.  
"I still think that you two…" Dawn started.  
"… can be total idiots sometimes." Dusk finished.  
I grinned. "Too bad, you're stuck with us. I'm the only one with any talent at pick-pocketing, and Kaita has a thing for shoplifting."  
"Not to mention my incredible looks," she joked.  
I snorted playfully. "You wish, sticky-fingers."  
"You're one to talk, wallet-snatcher." She stuck her tongue out.  
We were about to start wrestling again, when Dusk grabbed the back of my short-shirt.  
"Instead of fighting, how about we stop by the lake? I hear there's a moon festival going on, and you know what festivals mean?" Dawn said excitedly.  
"Tourists!" Kaita grinned.  
"And tourists mean…?" Dusk prompted cheerfully.  
"Easy money." I finished happily. "And money means food. Real food."  
"I love food." Dusk made a kitty face.  
Kaita swatted him. "Stop, now you're gonna make me hungry…"  
Dawn stood up, straightening her ragged towel dress. "Then lets go already. It started like an hour ago."

* * *

We set up our booth in a high-traffic area, near the center of the main activities. From where we were, we could see out into the lake, where the full moon was about to rise.  
The twins stood on a nearby dock with a trashy boom box and a ratty old blanket spread on the ground. Dusk was performing (he has a thing for music; dancing, playing guitar, DJ-ing for parties, he's done it all).  
Dawn was twirling a little device Kaita made out of some wires and an old flashlight we found out by the dumpster. Being some kind of engineering genius, she rigged the flashlight to change colors. All Dawn has to do is twirl it in a circle and hold out a pillowcase for cash.  
I have no idea why people gave them any money. I mean, they're twins and all, and they look young, but still.  
The real money comes from Kaita and I. While the tourists mill about like scattered cattle, watching Dusk dance or whatever, we scan the crowd for the telltale bulge of a full wallet. With a careful hand and lots of patience, we can rake in some serious cash that way.  
So far I had filched two men's wallets (one containing $80, one with $17) and a woman's purse (containing $91). That totaled at about $200, a pretty good haul for one day.  
I grinned, pleased with myself. _I don't want to brag, but I'm pretty good at this. _  
A word of advice for all you travelers: keep your cash in your shoes.  
Now, before you go thinking we're just heartless thieves, notice that all we took was money, which is all we need. Plus, after emptying the wallets, we leave them in a pile near the lost and found.  
I don't particularly like stealing. But break-dancing for tourists during festivals won't feed four hungry kids. It's the only way we can survive.  
As my dear Kaita would say: _Suck it up, Buttercup. _  
Suddenly, I heard a man shouting, and loud footsteps to my far left. Dogs barked.  
_Speaking of Kaita, looks like she got herself into a little trouble over there. _  
I pushed through the crowd, looking for a flash of silvery-blue hair. All I could see was a bunch of chubby, ambling tourists, until I slammed into a frantic Kaita.  
"Move, stupid, he has dogs!" She snapped.  
I immediately spun, running full sprint towards the booth. "You should've been more careful," I muttered. "Plus, you stand out with your crazy blue hair."  
"How was I supposed to know the doggies were mean?" She whined, golden eyes wide. "And your hair is blue too!"  
"It's pretty much black." I looked behind Kaita. The tall (and very pissed) man with his vicious dogs were gaining on us.  
I saw Dawn's flashing lights ahead._ Blue. Green. Red._ I pulled Kaita along, faster, _faster… _  
Running is one of my favorite things to do. I like feeling the wind in my face, and moving so fast that everything blurs. I really love running.  
But not when I'm being chased by angry tourists and their bloodthirsty dogs.  
When we were in view of the twins, I waved my arms, signaling that we had a problem. Dusk froze, and Dawn shoved all the money into her pockets. Then they saw the dogs, and I swear their faces paled five shades.  
Kaita suddenly yanked me to a stop.  
I almost tripped. "What is it?"  
"We're trapped!"  
My blood iced. _Why do I never think of these things beforehand? Stupid! _  
We turned around to face the wheezing tourist and his barking dogs. He was glaring at us as he tried to regain his breath. Kaita and I were slowly backing towards the twins.  
And the end of the dock.  
The twins looked horrified. "What are we gonna do now?" Dawn hissed. "That guy obviously did not come here to give us a tip. What did you do, hit him with a stick?  
"The dogs look like they want us for dinner," Dusk murmured nervously, eyeing their sharp, yellowed teeth.  
"Just calm down guys, we'll figure something out." I started to say…  
… when the man released the dogs. He grinned viciously.  
"RUN!" I screamed, pulling the others with me as I dashed for the end of the dock. I knew there was no way we could outrun a dog, let alone three of them. I could hear them barking and snarling and slobbering as they chased us.  
_We are so dead. _  
"Where I we going?" Dawn cried, green eyes bright with fear.  
"Swimming." Kaita said simply as we plowed off the edge of the dock, towards the endless cold water, and the glowing full moon.  
A moment passed while we were in midair, when time seemingly slowed down.  
I felt like I was floating. It was peaceful. I had time to look at the moon.  
The next thought I had would be my last on planet Earth. Six words. One sentence.  
_Since when is the moon blue? _  
Then time sped up, we hit the water, and our lives were totally flipped.

* * *

**Ugh, I hate setup chapters. To much blah, not enough actual story. -_-**

**Now that that's over with, you see that little button right there? Says "review"? It's sitting there, all conveniently placed, so you can click it and... REVIEW! :D**

**Kari-chan... out!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning

**Here's chapter two.**

**It's just starting to get interesting...**

* * *

Chapter 2: The Beginning

_Cobblestones._  
_Why am I surrounded by cobblestones?_  
I attempted to sit up. My head throbbed like the devil, and everything spun around me. I groaned, laying back down slowly. _Maybe I'll just rest here for a bit…_  
Someone shook my shoulder, violently. _Or not._  
"Kari! KARI! WAKE. UP!" Dawn shook my shoulder again frantically. "KARI!"  
I moaned. "My head…"  
"I know, everyone has a headache. But, never mind that, look around! Where the hell are we?"  
That got my attention. I sat up sharply. The wooziness had died down, but I still had a splitting headache. Plus, my whole body felt weird, like a distant tingling, or drunkenness, or something. It wasn't uncomfortable, just… different.  
Then I looked up and realized just how different it was about to get.  
Dawn was glancing around, wide-eyed. Dusk was holding his hands to his ears, like he was trying to block out some sound. Kaita was lying by some crates, out cold.  
We were in an alley. Brick buildings in autumn shades were to our left and right. The sun shone bright above our heads, and we could hear the bustling sounds of a busy marketplace.  
Colors shone through the opening at the end of the alley. I could smell food, like fresh bread and fruit of some sort. Carts and animal noises, people chattering and laughing and shouting. It took me a moment to realize that I couldn't hear the sounds of car engines.  
_Last thing I remember, we were being chased by angry dogs into a freezing lake in the middle of the night. Now, this. _  
_What the hell?_  
I staggered over to Kaita, who was breathing softly. Her hair had come out of it's ponytail at some point, and spread out like a halo around her head.  
I prodded her sharply with my finger. "Kaita, wake the hell up. You won't believe this."  
She moaned. "Ouch… headache…"  
_So I guess we do all have headaches._ "Dude, I'm not kidding. Get up, or I will judo toss you out into the street. Seriously. GET. UP." My voice sounded shaky.  
Kaita sat up, blinking blearily. She surveyed our surroundings, confused. "What…?"  
"I don't know. I don't even frigging know," I moaned, massaging my temple. _Dammit, my head hurts like crap._  
My stomach growled. _And I'm starving._ I gazed wistfully at the nearby street. _I can smell the food from here…_  
"Ugh… Make it stop…"  
Dusk sounded almost pitiful. "Dude, the headaches aren't that painful. Get a grip," I grumbled.  
"No, it's not that… The noise, it's too loud… Too loud…" Dusk said softly.  
Dawn's eyebrows furrowed. "It's not that bad…"  
Dusk just curled into a ball, fists still clenched over his ears.  
I realized my head had stopped spinning. I stood, using the building's wall for balance. When I felt better, I took a few steps.  
Dawn frowned. "Where are you going?"  
"Uh, to get some food? I'm starving, and I've got money in my pocket, from…" I didn't want to say _from the festival_, because I don't think anyone wanted to think about that right now. "… from earlier."  
Dawn stood up. "We can't just let you go alone," she said nervously.  
Kaita also stood. "I'll go with Kari, we'll bring back food, you stay here with your brother. How about that?"  
Dawn considered, then nodded slowly.  
I dusted off my skirt. I knew we looked like an odd pair, Kaita in a tank and camo and me with a short shirt and a shorter skirt, but oh well.  
We slowly left the empty alley and stepped onto the busy street.  
Surprisingly, our clothing attracted little attention. There were people there wearing stranger clothing than us. Even their hair was in different colors; Kaita's weird hair and eyes didn't stand out at all.  
We wandered among the stands, admiring the assorted goodies for sale. I was surprised again to see that I didn't recognize any of the fruits or vegetables. I saw some animals, which I recognized, even though the coloring was off.  
"What is with this place?" I murmured to Kaita. "It's just… so…"  
"Strange?"  
"Yeah."  
Something shiny caught my eye, and I paused in dismay.  
Kaita looked at me quizzically. "What is it?"  
"That's definitely not a quarter."  
I picked up the coin. It was small, golden colored, and had an insignia I didn't recognize on it.  
Kaita grabbed it out of my hands, before I could get a closer look. "What is it? What does it say?" I asked.  
"It says… F-I-O-R-E. _Fiore_." She looked up at me slowly. "Where is Fiore, exactly?"  
"No. That can't be right. Let me see," I snatched it back.  
_F-I-O-R-E. Fiore._  
_Fiore?_  
"Well? Where is it? What's wrong?" Kaita tilted her head questioningly.  
"There _is_ no Fiore, Kaita. Fiore. Doesn't._ Exist_," I whispered.  
Before she could say anything, I pulled her by her arm back to the alley.

"What's up? Did you bring us some food?" Dawn asked. "Why the grim faces?"  
I dropped the coin in her hand.  
She just stared at me, waiting for an explanation.  
"Read it."  
Dawn read it. Then read it again. "That's gotta be a fake coin or something. A toy."  
I sighed in relief. _A toy. That's it._ "We'll be right back," I said quickly, racing off, Kaita at my heels.

Throwing caution to the wind, I walked up to a random citizen of this weird place and asked politely, "Excuse me, sir?"  
The man turned. "Yes? May I help you?"  
I smiled. "Could you please tell us where we are?"  
The man gave me an odd look. "Magnolia Town."  
I coughed. "And, where is Magnolia Town, exactly…?"  
He frowned. "Excuse me, ma'am, but are you sure you're okay? Magnolia Town is the only place around for many miles-"  
"What country are we in?" I blurted, holding my breath.

"Continent? Nation? Land mass? Whatever it's called," I asked desperately. "Please?"  
"My dear, you're in Fiore." He said nervously, then quickly scuttled off.  
I felt defeated. "Let's find somewhere we can beg for food or something." I said halfheartedly.  
"Kari?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Where the hell are we?"  
I sighed. "Kaita, I have no friggin' clue."

We had found an outdoor restaurant with stools, where we sat for a bit, watching the clouds of people in weird clothing drift by.  
Kaita groaned. "I feel weird. Plus, I've still got a headache."  
"Weird how?"  
"Kind of like my foots asleep, only super faint and all over my body."  
"Huh. I have the same feeling, luckily the headache's gone." I fingered my short hair. "What are we gonna do? We have no idea where we are, we have no money, no food, no nothing." I let my head hit the counter. "Worst day ever."  
Kaita giggled, poking my head. "Aw, come on. It can't be half as bad as what we left behind, you know?"  
I paused. She was right, we didn't have much going for us back in the big city either.  
"Besides, I always wanted to live in the country." She grinned.  
I grinned back, lifting my head up. "You're right, it's nice out here." I gazed out at the endless forest past the outskirts of Magnolia Town. "The people look like they came out of a storybook. The buildings are beautiful. It's just so pretty and… perfect. Kind of like a…"  
Kaita giggled. "A fairy tale?"  
"Yeah. A fairy tale." I smiled a little.  
"Were you two talking about Fairy Tail just now?"  
I jumped. The bartender/waiter person had snuck up on us.  
I blinked. "Uh…"  
"It's really an amazing guild, even if they are a little destructive." He chortled. "I guess that's wizards for ya'."  
_Wizards…? Is this guy insane…?_ I decided to play along.  
I smiled. "Yes, I've heard that they're the greatest guild in all of Fiore." I was really taking a risk here; I had no idea what I was talking about.  
Kaita caught on quickly. "Have you heard about anything happening lately?" She asked innocently. She knew we needed information.  
"Oh, they're always ready to do any and all kinds of jobs," he rattled on. "I hear there's this one team, they've got a Fire Dragon Slayer, they're doing lots of great stuff."  
"Uh-huh," I said, only half listening. I had taken the liberty of relieving a berry salesman of some of his fruity bounty for free, unfortunately it turned out to be a very heavy food to carry around. They felt like a bag of ball bearings in my boot. Very uncomfortable.  
"And then there's Erza Scarlet, she's something all right," he continued admiringly. "Can strike down an entire army with one blow, they say."  
"She sounds like a very skilled fighter." _Yep. He's insane. Completely off the deep end._  
"Yes ma'am, and real easy on the eyes too." He grinned.  
Kaita kicked me under the table. I glanced up at her. She was looking pointedly in the direction of the fruit stands.  
The berry salesman was talking to a pink-haired weirdo and his buddies. There was a blonde chick, a guy with blue hair, and another woman wearing armor with a skirt. _Odd combination..._  
Then I realized they were all dressed kind of funny. Then there was a floating blue thing with wings. _A bird…?_  
The salesman pointed in our direction. _At us_, I realized. I felt the ball bearing berries in my shoe sink like a deadweight.  
I was freaking out. I used sign language to say to Kaita, _Let's stay here, maybe they won't see us._  
She was about to reply, when the waiter smiled. "Oh, well would you look at that!" He said excitedly. "That's Erza Scarlet! The famous warrior wizard!"  
The "warrior wizard" was looking straight at us, and she didn't look all that happy. Her little group started towards us. The berry salesman was glaring.  
_Well, that escalated quickly._ I got up off the stool, keeping my eye on the approaching threat. "Excuse me sir, but we really must be going now. Bye!"  
Glancing at Kaita, I signed quickly, _RUN._

We arrived in the alley gasping for air. _I think we lost them..._  
Dawn looked up exasperatedly. "What took you so long? Something's wrong with Dusk." Dusk still had his hands over his ears.  
Kaita sat in front of him. "What's wrong? Do your ears hurt?"  
He didn't answer. He looked like he was in pain.  
Dawn frowned. "Let's leave him alone. Do you have anything to eat?"  
I dropped the bag of berries at her feet.  
"Cool." Dawn held a round, green berry in the palm of her hand.  
She popped it in her mouth. "They taste strange."  
"Not surprised," I replied. I ate a few. "Kinda dry."  
Kaita grabbed a handful. "Spicy!"  
Dawn ate another. "They are not. They're sweet."  
"They taste like air to me," I muttered. I ate a few more.  
Suddenly, I saw a flash of color. Bright blue. I peered behind a crate.  
There was a little Siamese cat peering out from behind the box.  
On it's hind feet. Smirking. At us.  
I choked on a berry or two. Kaita glanced over worriedly. "What's wrong…?" Then she noticed the cat.  
She was about to say something, when the cat said, "I wouldn't eat any more of those if I were you."  
We all just stared for a second, when Dawn sputtered, "It talked. The cat just talked. Did anyone else hear that, or am I going insane?"  
The cat laughed. "Well, you're not from around here, obviously."  
Kaita grinned. "No shit, Sherlock. Who are you, anyway?"  
It snorted. "Certainly not Sherlock, whoever that is."  
I smiled. "Excuse me, Kaita, correct me if I'm mistaken, but you're talking to A CAT. A FRIGGIN' TALKING CAT. WHAT-"  
"Dude, take a chill pill. It's not like she's going to eat us." Kaita glanced at the cat. "You are a she, right?"  
"Yup."  
_This is a dream. A really, really weird dream._  
Dawn held up her hand. "Yeah, guys? This is a little much for me at the moment. I'm going to bed now." With that, she turned around, lay down, and didn't move.  
Kaita, on the other hand, was fascinated. "Do you have a name?"  
The cat look a little sad. "No…"  
"Okay then, you're Llana." Kaita scooped up the cat, hugging it to her. "Aw, look at you, you're just so cute!"  
The cat tried to look dignified at first, but eventually gave up. _Hard to look dignified when you're a kitten being hugged to death by a teenage girl, I guess._  
I prodded the bag of berries with my foot. "So, Llana, why shouldn't we eat the berries?"  
She glanced over at me like I was an single-cell organism or something. "They're poisonous, for one thing."  
Kaita panicked, hugging Llana tighter. "No! But, what if they make us sick? What if…? NO! I'm too young to die!"  
I almost choked again. "Why would they be selling poisonous berries in a marketplace?!"  
Llana was gasping for breath. "Because… they're not poisonous… to everyone."  
Kaita relaxed. "So, we might be okay?"  
Llana shrugged, catching her breath. "They're only not poisonous to wizards, so probably not. Wizards like to use them because it increases their magic power."  
I moaned. "So we just poisoned ourselves?"  
"Yep."  
"Lovely. Well, if all goes well, this is just a dream, and I'll wake up soon." It was getting dark, and increasingly harder to see. "I mean, come on. We're in a town that doesn't exist, talking to animals, running from 'wizards'-"  
Llana frowned. "Hey! Wizards are real. You're in Fiore, which is also very real, and there is no reason why animals can't talk." She narrowed her eyes. "If you're not from Fiore, then where are you from?"  
"Washington."  
She blinked.  
"State of?"  
Still no reply.  
I sighed loudly. "North America? The United States?"  
"Under Canada, above South America," Kaita added.  
"Never heard of the place." Llana put her hands (paws?) on her hips. "Are you sure you're not confused?"  
I was getting tired of hearing that question, and I just broke down. "No, I'm not! I'm Kari Sora from the Olympic Peninsula, in Washington State, in the U.S. I'm a 17 year old homeless orphaned wild child, living with Kaita Umi, a 16 year old runaway, and Dawn and Dusk Gosuto, 14 year old twins. We're just a bunch of kids with no home and no life!" I snarled.  
"So just shut up, you stupid cat! I don't want to talk to anyone, I just want to wake up and go back, okay? Leave me alone!"  
After my outburst, I took Dawn's lead and lay down on the cobblestones, turning towards the wall, fuming.  
Llana was silent for a second, then she shrugged. "I have nothing to do, so I'm just gonna stick with you guys."  
"Sure, go ahead," Kaita said softly.

"Kari?"  
I opened my eyes. It was still dark.  
Flipping over, I replied, "Yes?"  
Kaita had Llana cradled in her arms. The cat appeared to be asleep. "I don't think this is a dream. Because, if it was, then I would be dreaming too. Or maybe I'm in your dream? And then there's the twins-"  
"Kaita? Less thinking, more sleeping, 'kay?"  
"'Kay."  
I flipped back over to face the wall. A few seconds later, Kaita asked again, "Kari?"  
"Yeesss?"  
"Why do you want to go back?"  
I didn't have a response to that.

* * *

**I couldn't help it, I needed to introduce another Exceed. It had to be done. x3**

**Anyway, what will happen to the little group now? What are the aftereffects of the poison? What about the wizards?**

**REVIEW, NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON! :D**

**Kari-chan, out!**


	3. Chapter 3: Team Natsu

**Ehehehe... sorry about the wait. -_- I've been pretty busy.**

**Chapter 3 has arrived.**

* * *

A cold boot dug into my cheek, waking me up.

I blinked open my eyes. "What…?"

It dug deeper. "Wake up, thieves!"

The woman was tall, with crimson red hair. She had on an armored top and a blue skirt, with a fierce scowl of disapproval. One I would get to know very well.

I yelped, scrambling backwards. She had a sword pointed at my face.

Kaita sat up blearily. "What's going on…?" Then she saw the woman's sword, and her face lit up. "Ooh! A sword! Can I touch it?"

There were three other people behind the woman. A boy with spiky pink hair, another boy with dark blue hair and no shirt, and a blonde girl with a blue skirt and sleeveless top.

Also, a blue creature levitated above the group. _No way! Is that another cat-?_

"So you're the ones who stole the berries. What do you have to say for yourselves?" The pink-haired boy asked triumphantly.

Dawn stuttered. "U-uh… well, see, we're kind of lost and-"

"Excuses! The evidence is lying right there," The flying cat interrupted, pointing his (he sounded like a boy) tail at the half-empty bag of fruit lying on the ground.

_Another talking cat. Oh, joy. _

The blonde's hazel eyes widened. "Oh, no! Don't tell me you ate those," she picked up the bag, shaking it gently.

"I told them not to, but no one listens to the cat," Llana replied innocently.

I turned to her and hissed, "Look, if you don't shut up, I swear I will drop kick you into next-"

"When did you eat these?" The blonde demanded.

Kaita furrowed her eyebrows. "Last night. Why?"

"We were starving, and we have no money for food-" I started to explain.

"Are you wizards? Because regular humans typically die within 10 minutes of eating it," the shirtless boy said flatly.

That got my attention. "No, we are _not_ wizards!" I sputtered.

"Then you're dead. Because that's how everyone else ends up," the redhead glared.

Silence.

"I do sense some moderate magic energy coming from them," the cat said casually.

_I do not like where this conversation is heading._ "Look, who _are_ you guys anyway?"

"Wizards of Fairy Tail," pink hair replied loudly (and arrogantly), "and we're here to punish you for stealing!"

Blondie frowned. "But, you know, they do look confused. Maybe we could lay off the punishment for a bit?"

Dawn's eyes widened fearfully. "What _kind_ of punishment?"

"And where are your clothes…?" Kaita asked shirtless guy.

Sure enough, blue hair was standing there in his boxers.

"Crap!' He shouted. "Not again…"

"Streaker," pink hair snickered.

"You shut up!" blue hair got pink hair in a headlock, and soon enough, they were wrestling on the ground.

"STOP IT RIGHT NOW! BOTH OF YOU!" Redhead shouted at them, trying to break up the fight.

"Too much noise…" Dusk moaned.

Kaita was giggling, Dawn looked like a cornered rabbit, and I probably looked like a deer in the headlights.

Blondie looked embarrassed. "Yeah, that's Team Natsu for ya'. My name's Lucy, she's Erza, that's Gray-"  
With a roar, fire started spurting from pink hair's mouth, like a fountain of death or something. Kaita flinched.

"… and he's Natsu. Oh, and we can't forget Happy." She gestured to the blue cat, who was floating above the two squabbling boys.

He grinned. "Aye!"

Llana snorted.

Lucy turned to me. "And who are you guys? You look pretty beat. Are you from around here?"

"No. No, we are most certainly not from here," I said, annoyed. "I'm Kari, that's Kaita, and those are the twins, Dusk and Dawn…" I glanced around. "Dawn?"

Dawn, the sneaky little bugger, had used the fight as a distraction and was currently trying to run out into the street.

Gray paused. A weird blue circle thing with rune symbols appeared in front of him. "Ice-Make: Prison!" He shouted.

Ice shot out of his palms, creating a rectangular cage around my friend.

"Whoa!" Kaita's eyes widened. "Did you see that?"

I ran up to the edge of the prison, which appeared to be made completely out of ice. Dawn was pounding on the frozen bars, but the thing wouldn't give.

"Hey, that is so not cool," I whined. "Let her out! What did she ever do to you?"

"That leads us back to the point," Erza said flatly. "You five are coming with us."

"Excuse me," Llana piped up. "But I believe you just said 'five', and I wanted to point out that I had nothing to do with this…"

"Guilty by association."

I snickered, and Llana glared.

"Where are you gonna take us?" Kaita asked excitedly.

Lucy smiled. "Back to the guild."

"What guild?" Dawn whimpered. "What are you talking about?"

"Fairy Tail, of course."

Ironically, this place seemed less fairy-tale-esque the we further went.

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**That was a fail ending. Sorry about the font changes, I'm still trying to figure the new system out.**

**REVIEW PLEASE :'D**

**Kari-chan, out.**


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome to Fairy Tail

**My internet is being mean, so I won't be able to update very often, sorry.**

**Anyway, here's chapter 4.**

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_It's a bar._

_I didn't know what a wizard's guild would be like, but I certainly wasn't expecting this._

It was packed with people of all sizes, shapes, ages, and… yeah, you get the idea. They were either drinking, talking, laughing, or a mixture of the three. Some were standing and looking at a large bulletin board with what looked like posters on it, labeled _JOBS._ Many were sitting at tables in small groups.

When we walked in, everyone turned, and my heart sank. _They're staring at us._

Team Natsu, however, paid no notice. Erza approached an small old man in a weird hat on the counter.

"Makarov, while wandering in the market, we came upon a distraught man who claimed that these had been stolen from him."

Lucy gestured to the limp bag.

"And we found they had been eaten by this small group of children," Erza continued, gesturing at the twins, Kaita, and I.

Dusk had his hands over his, ears his eyes squeezed shut, Dawn still looked like a frightened rabbit, Kaita was glancing around in awe, and I was just humiliated.

I had been caught in the act of stealing for the first time, and I was pissed.

I glared at the back of Erza's head.

Of course, she didn't notice. "They deny being wizards, and yet they've lasted... maybe 7 hours after eating the fruit. Also, they seem to emit more magical energy than most non-wizards."

I shifted uncomfortably.

"Also, there is still punishment to be considered. What should we do with them?"

The old man, Makarov, had obviously been drinking. He had a mug full of something in his hand, and smelled like beer.

"Well, let me see them," he slurred, squinting at us.

We waited nervously. _What does he have in store for us? Torture? _

"I got it!" He said loudly, taking another swig from his mug. "We'll train them! They can be Fairy Tail wizards."

I suppressed the urge to laugh in his face. _What…? No. Just no._

Erza apparently had the same idea. "But, we can't do that! We have no idea who these people are! What if they're spies?"

"They don't look like spies to me," said Lucy, smiling a little. "They're probably way younger than us."

"I'm _16_," I muttered.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Llana asked angrily.

"Oh, another Exceed," Makarov slurred.

Llana glared defiantly.

Kaita took Llana off her shoulder, where she had been resting for the past hour. "Don't get mad at him. If he doesn't like us, that will just make our punishment worse," Kaita whispered.

The cat snorted indignantly.

"As I was saying, if we could train them as wizards, then they could earn their own money to pay back the man selling the fruit." Makarov continued. "Plus, we'd have more members in the guild."

Erza was silent, then replied, "Yes. As you wish."

"_Wait_, just hold up a second," I said, trying to get them to change their minds. "We are definitely not wizards, and we have no idea what we're doing..."

Natsu laughed loudly. "Oh well."

Suddenly, he grabbed the twins' wrists, while Erza held onto Kaita's forearm.

"Whoa! What are you-?" I started to say, backing away towards the counter, when I felt something touch my lower back, dangerously close to… _well_… a very private area.

I let out a yelp, leaping away from the counter, which brought laughter from the surrounding guild members.

"Hey! That could be categorized as sexual harassment, buster," I glared at Makarov.

He laughed drunkenly, passing the stamp to Erza, who pressed it too Kaita's wrist.

Kaita let out a little squeal. Where Erza had stamped her arm, there was a little golden insignia that resembled a bird, or a flame. I couldn't tell which.

Natsu did the same to the twins, and Dawn glanced at her wrist. The same insignia, only in green, was imprinted there. Dusk didn't look, seeing as his hands were still clamped over his ears.

I groaned. "Wait… does that mean…?" I tried, and failed, to look at my own back. _Crap! I didn't ask for any of this!_

Kaita laughed. "Yep. You've got one too."

I looked around at the people surrounding us. They were grinning.

Makarov took another swig from his mug. "Okay, kids. Welcome to Fairy Tail."

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**Bet you saw that one coming. :P**

**Better chapters to come. Not much meat on that one... REVIEW!**

**Kari-chan, out! :3**


	5. Chapter 5: Anger Issues

**Hey peoples. ^^ Chapter 5:**

* * *

"Here's the deal. No going on the second floor, unless you're an S-class mage or above. Master makes the rules, and if you don't follow them, you'll be in trouble. If you're going to duel someone, make sure it's outside so you don't damage the guild. Also…"

The white-haired girl, Mira, rattled on about the do's and don'ts of being a member of Fairy Tail.

I still had my doubts as to whether my friends and I fit into that category, but...

"…And while on missions, try to destroy as little as possible." Mira smiled, gesturing around the guild hall. "So, how do you like it?"

"Uh..." _I'm pretty sure you guys are all insane, but other than that? Oh, yeah, it's lovely. _

For seemingly the first time, someone noticed poor Dusk's predicament. Mira frowned, concerned. "Is something wrong?"

My friend still had his hands clamped over his ears.

"He says everything's too loud," Dawn explained. "It started when we… got here."

"Hmm," Mira's frown deepened. "Is there anything we can do?"

After a moment, Kaita's face lit up in a grin. "Do you have any raw materials I can build something out of? Like a scrap heap?… And tools. Do you have tools?"

"Sure, this way." Mira led Kaita and Dusk out the door.

That left Dawn, Llana, and I to stand there, looking stupid.

"Well, this is awkward," I said.

Dawn gave a short laugh. "Yeah."

After a few more moment s of silence, I asked hesitantly, "Do you feel… I don't know, fuzzy? Tingly?"

She snorted. "Only ever since we arrived in the alley."

We stood there quietly, pondering that for a bit.

Until Natsu came up behind us and grabbed my shoulder, scaring the crap out of me.

"NO. _TOUCHING,_" I warned, stepping out of reach and dropping into a defensive stance.

"Aw, come on, loosen up a little," he said cheerfully. "I just came to ask you a question."

"Then ask, and then leave us alone," Llana said exasperatedly.

Happy flew down to land on Natsu's head. "Well aren't you the sour one," he taunted.

Llana growled. With another magic circle thing, little wings sprouted out of her back, and she flew off.

"She can fly too?" I asked, realizing that not much could surprise me anymore.

"Can't they all?" Dawn replied dryly.

I was actually kind of jealous, watching her fly off._ If only I could just fly away from this mess, too…_

Natsu interrupted my thoughts. "You're clothes are weird."

I snorted. "Says the guy wearing a skirt."

"It's not a skirt!" Natsu looked horrified.

Happy was laughing. "Got ya' there, Natsu!"

They argued for a few seconds, while Dawn and I watched, amused.

"Are you really not wizards?" Natsu asked suddenly, turning back to us.

I blinked, annoyed. "_No._ No, we are not."

"How do _you_ know?" Natsu countered.

Dawn took a breath. "Dude, I know you're trying to help or whatever, but don't you think we'd know whether we're wizards or not?"

He still looked unconvinced.

_God, he's annoying. Do I have to spell it out for him? _"Look, _we_ come from a place where, well, _magic_… doesn't exist," I said patiently. "Or wizards. Or talking, flying cats. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to go check and make sure Kaita hasn't killed anyone."

Before Natsu or Happy could reply, we quickly evacuated the guild hall.

Dusk definitely looked better.

On his head was a weird little thing that resembled a pair of bulky headphones. They completely covered his ears, and looked like they were made out of pure metal.

"What is that?" Dawn asked, poking the device with a slender finger. "It looks heavy."

"It blocks out sound," Kaita explained cheerfully. "He probably can't hear anything, but at least he won't be in pain."

I began to translate that to sign language for him, but he interrupted, "It's okay, I can hear you just fine."

"No way!" Kaita said, shocked, taking off the headset and placing it on her own head. "This thing is totally soundproof! I can't hear squat."

I put it on. _She's right, dead silence._"Neither can I."

He replaced it, back on his head, saying, "Are you kidding? I can hear you all just fine. It may even be a little loud."

Dawn snorted. "Liar."

"No, really!" He tapped the ear covers. "You guys must have bad ears or something."

Mira watched our little exchange suspiciously.

I glared at her. "What? If you've got a problem, say something."

She blinked slowly. "It's just… never mind." Then, Mirajane walked away.

In a brief gesture of immaturity, I stuck out my tongue at her retreating figure.

We shrugged and returned to the guild hall, laughing and joking, like nothing was out of place.

_This is probably just a weird dream. _I grinned up at the sky._ I'll wake up soon and we'll all be back in America._

Wrong.

"Look, if we told you where we were from, you wouldn't believe us!"

I was attempting to explain to Makarov, Erza, and Mira that weren't really up for having a chat about ourselves.

Erza grinned, if a little sarcastically. "Try us."

I growled. "No."

"Does she always act so hostile?" Gray asked Dusk casually.

He laughed. "Oh, just wait. You haven't seen half of it."

I pointed at the twin. "_You_ can just shut up," I snapped.

"What? It's true."

Erza, ever the peacemaker, interrupted our little argument. "There's a lot of money you owe from stealing the merchandise, and there's a lot of other ways you could be paying it off," she said, examining her nails.

"Like, how much?" Kaita asked curiously.

"15,000 jewels."

Dawn snorted. "We have _no_ idea how much that is."

"A lot, for a regular bag of fruit, but relatively cheap for these." Makarov gestured to the bag, which he had brought with him to the secret meeting room under the guild hall.

I glanced around. _It looks more like a storage area or a dungeon than a meeting room…_

Makarov grinned mischievously. "Anyway, if you don't want to train as wizards, you could always pose as swimsuit models-"

"_NO._" Dawn, Kaita and I interrupted simultaneously.

Dusk snickered, earning a death glare from his sister.

"Fine, what do we have to do?" I snapped, annoyed.

They weren't listening to me, of course.

"The boy looks like he shows signs of _something _magical…" Mira murmured to Erza.

"But I've never known someone to have that kind of ability without training..." Erza replied quietly.

"Maybe the others have potential too," Makarov wondered aloud. "Plus, there's the berries; they must have some magic energy to counteract the poisons…"

Dusk looked annoyed. "Uh, guys? We can hear you, and we get the point."

Erza turned to us with a smile. "You start training tomorrow."

"Training? What are we training _for_?" I asked, already suspecting the answer with dismay.

"To be wizards, duh," Kaita said cheerfully. "Spells and stuff."

Makarov scratched his head absentmindedly. "All right then, crash course: there are two main types of magic: Caster Magic is magic that is expelled from the body," he lectured. "and Holder Magic requires an outside source. Now, every mage has magic power, which is energy used to power magical attacks."

"Like a battery?" Kaita wondered aloud.

"A battery...?" Mira asked, confused.

I stared pointedly at Kaita. "Nothing. Please continue."

He did, for the next half hour. I didn't really pay attention, knowing I would forget most of it in the next day or so. At the end of the lecture, he paused for questions.

"So, some mages are evil?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Yes, they can be quite problematic, and are often the cause of the jobs posted on the board," Erza replied.

"Speaking of which, how many of these jobs will we have to complete until we can leave?" Dusk asked, getting straight to the point.

"Oh, one good one should be fine," Mira said breezily.

"Problem?" I said dryly. "We're not wizards, and we can't use magic. That's not something we'd even heard of until yesterday."

Erza stared suspiciously. "Where were you, then, the day _before_ yesterday?"

"At home, enjoying my relativelynormal life," I replied sweetly. My annoyance had increased greatly with each question about our past.

"Where's 'home', then?' Mira asked curiously.

My emotional state was getting pretty unpleasant, so I decided to make a quick exit to cool off.

Anger issues._ Meh._ "Well, it's certainly not here." I spat bitterly, before storming up the steps and out of the room.

* * *

**Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, my personal OC is kind of a hothead. ^^' She pays for it next chapter, though.**

**Review! :3 Flames will be fed to Natsu! **


	6. Chapter 6: I'll Never Wander Alone

**... in the Dark Again. **

**O_o**

* * *

POV Kaita

_Graceful, Kari. Go ahead and storm off like that. Very attractive. _

"Sorry about that, she has some anger issues she's still trying to work out," I apologized.

Mira looked worried, but she shook it off, determined to get something done. "All right, let's get started then. Do you have a place to stay? No offense, but you don't look like your housing is very clean..."

"You don't smell like it, either," Llana snickered, waking from her slumber in my lap.

"No, actually, we're kinda street urchins…" Dawn said, ignoring the cat.

"We have a room through here you could use," Makarov gestured to a hallway.

"It's not much, but it's better than nothing," Erza added.

The twins smiled. "Sure, thanks a lot!"

"You're welcome. However, this might add a little to your debt…" Makarov grinned evilly.

I was going to say "Never mind then", but the twins had already disappeared into the hallway.

I sighed, instead saying, "I'll go drag Kari down here, be right back."

POV Kari

_Where is it?_

I punched the wall angrily. _How did we get here?_

The alley held no answer. Just the darkness of midnight, and some old crates.

I wanted to scream in frustration.

_I need to know how to get back! I don't want to be here! Stupid alley…_

I heard noises behind me.

I froze, my heart pounding, trying not to imagine the creepy things that could be living in alleyways. _Rats, bugs, snakes… we've encountered some pretty nasty stuff back home..._

Tears welled in my eyes. _I want to go home._

"Hey, girly. What are you doing out here, so late at night?"

I spun, my heartbeat quickening. _Oh, no..._

Three men stood there, watching me in a way that made me uncomfortable. I suddenly wished my skirt and shirt were longer.

"Leave me alone!" I snarled, angry that I had let myself get cornered like this.

One guy, the first speaker, stepped towards me. "Calm down, girly. We don't want to hurt you."

"Yeah," said another one, advancing slowly, "We just want to have a little fun!"

_And that's my cue to run like hell._I suddenly charged, pulling a blitz and attacking the second guy full force with a sharp jab to the neck. While he was distracted, I used an elbow lock to throw him over my leg, sending him flying backwards into his comrade, where they both fell in a heap.

_GO! _Without staying to watch, I started to run, when I felt a hand clamp onto my wrist.

"Hands off!" I growled, struggling to escape, before realizing that I couldn't move from my waist down. I wobbled, in danger of falling. _Ugh..._ _What the hell?_

The man who had my wrist smiled darkly. "Looks like this one's a fighter," He said to his buddies, who were getting back up.

"To bad you're going up against a wizard; huh, girly?"

My blood iced. _A _w_izard?_ I trembled slightly, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Ha! Look at the thing, she's shaking!" One of the guys laughed, wiping blood from his lip.

I tried struggling, but I couldn't move my legs. _No! This can't be happening. This isn't real..._

The first guy pushed me against the wall, using his arms to block any escape routes. Not that I could run away, seeing as my legs wouldn't work. A weird tattoo of a crescent moon on his wrist shone silver in the darkness.

_No, wait! Stop!_ I screamed silently, willing the men to disappear.

I struggled, trying to free myself. He was much stronger than me, not to mention my sudden paralysis.

He got dangerously close to my face, breathing hotly on my quivering mouth. He grinned, pressing his body into mine and crushing me against the wall. I whimpered as his hand began to travel up my thigh.

"Leave her alone!" Someone shouted. _God bless you, whoever you are._

The man stopped touching me, turning to face the new enemy. My legs gave way, and I collapsed against the wall, shivering in relief.

Lucy had arrived just on time, with Kaita close behind, obviously pissed. She snarled, sounding like a wild animal, one you wouldn't want to run into alone in the woods.

The wizard was unimpressed. "Two more? We're gonna have fun tonight, aren't we guys?" The other men smirked in agreement.

"I don't think so!" Lucy shouted. She put her hand to her key ring, but before she could say anything, a golden light appeared, radiating out of a magic circle.

"What the…?" My attackers held their hands out to block the bright light, backing away.

A man appeared inside the circle, with spiky orange hair and a black business suit with a red tie.

"Is that all you've got?" The wizard attacker laughed. "A celestial-"

"People like you make me sick." The orange-haired boy interrupted angrily. "Taking advantage of girls isn't a sign of strength. Its disgusting."

"Who are you, my grandma?" The wizard laughed again. "I could care less about women. I'm strong enough to have whatever I want, that's all I care abo-"

"O Regulus, grant me your strength," orange-hair interrupted again. He bent his right arm so his fist was pointed at the sky, and placed the other hand on his bicep.

Golden light emanated from the ring on his right hand, growing larger to encase his whole fist and the area around it.

"Huh…?" The wizard attacker blurted, backing up slightly.

Orange-hair growled, swinging his fist in a mean-looking hook and plowing it into the attacker's stomach.

With a scream, the wizard evaporated, leaving nothing behind but golden light.

His comrades paused for a second, before yelling in fear, sprinting out of the alley as fast as their cowardly legs would carry them.

Orange-hair stopped glowing, looking pleased as the cat who ate the canary.

"Uh, thanks Loke, but wasn't that a bit overkill?" Lucy muttered dryly.

"Like I said earlier, guys like that make me sick," Loke replied.

"Kari! Oh my God, are you okay?" Kaita towards me, freaking out. "They didn't… do anything, did they?"

"No, but they were going to," I shivered, still curled against the wall. "Not something I want to go through again. Ever."

"Well it definitely won't happen again, not when I have anything to say about it," Kaita said, grinning wolfishly.

I smiled back thankfully, feeling better now that I wasn't alone.

"Who are those two? New guild members?" Loke asked, amused.

"Yep!" Kaita said cheerfully. "We start training tomorrow!"

I groaned. "Oh God, don't remind me."

Loke laughed. "Well, someone seems excited," he said sarcastically.

"Not like it's any of your business anyway," I muttered.

He laughed again, making a scene out of holding his hand to help me up.

I glanced at Lucy. "Who is this guy? Is he _always_ such a flirt?"

She sighed. "Yep. You haven't seen the worst of it."

I sighed too, taking his hand, if not a little involuntarily. _I can help myself up, thank you…_

As soon as I was on my own feet, I almost collapsed again.

I blushed, embarrassed after falling against Kaita. _…Or not._

"Looks like you're a little unsteady on your feet," Lucy observed.

"No shit," I muttered, trying to hide my embarrassment. _I don't like looking weak, even (if not especially) in front of my friends._ "I don't know what that freak job did to me, but I can't move my legs…"

"No worries, it'll probably wear off soon," Kaita said breezily. _In a lot of ways_, I realized suddenly, s_he reminds me of Mira_. "in the meantime, I can help you get back to the guild, m'kay?"

I was about to thank her, when Loke grabbed my other arm, forcing me to lean against him. I was sure my face was at least a few shades redder than it had been just seconds earlier.

"Don't worry ladies, I got this," he smiled arrogantly.

I straightened, or tried too. "Pushy, aren't yo- WHOA!" I yelped as he swung me up in his arms.

_Oh, crap. Awkward._

"You're welcome." Loke grinned. He didn't seem to sense my discomfort. In fact, he seemed a little amused by it.

Kaita snickered. "How's the view up there?" She asked innocently.

"Tell anyone, and I'll kill you," I hissed back. I would have escaped, except my damn legs still wouldn't move.

We started off to return to the guild, my face burning, Lucy and Loke smiling, and Kaita quietly laughing her ass off.

As we arrived at the guild's front door, I struggled to escape Loke's grasp.

"Yeah, I think I can walk now," I snapped, still embarrassed at having to be carried home-

_No. Fairy Tail isn't home,_ I berated myself. _Start thinking like that, and pretty soon you'll be calling Erza "Mom"._

"But you seem to be enjoying it so," Loke said mischievously, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

Kaita was falling into another giggle fit.

I tried moving my legs. Still numb. _Damn. Hopefully no one's inside_, I thought…

… as we walked in to a guild full of wizards. Who, of course, immediately stared at us.

I almost choked, struggling again to get out of Loke's arms.

Most wizards just smiled and returned to their previous activities, but some watched us as I was carried downstairs. _Ugh. This is so not cool... _I yawned.

"Why are you taking me down here? The twins will never let me hear the end of it!" I was begging pitifully, but hey. I was desperate.

"You're sleeping down here, are you not?"

I frowned. Tiredness was making me a little slow. "I am...?"

Loke grinned. "And you can't get down the stairs by yourself."

I punched his chest weakly, not that it did any good. "Put. Me. Down. Right now..." My sleepiness was starting to get to me, and my vision was blurring. "Or I'll… uh…." I slumped into Loke's arms, using his chest as a pillow. "…um..." My eyes closed. _No, wait, don't..._

Kaita smirked. "Tired? Who needs a bed, you could fall asleep right there!"

"Shut up, Kaita… I won't..." And then, predictably, I fell asleep.

* * *

**AW! x3 *waves arms spastically* LOKE FANGIRLING!**

***clears throat* Anyway, that'll be the last time, I promise. No more... whatever the hell that was.**

**REVIEW! or the creepy wizard guy will rape you! :D**


	7. Chapter 7: Punpunpun

**Because I couldn't think of a better chapter name.**

**here's number 7:**

* * *

"How was last night, Sleeping Beauty?"

Lucy's sarcastic voice drifted towards me, interrupting a bad dream I couldn't quite remember.

I blinked open my eyes. "The scary part? Or the awkward part?" I replied blearily, rolling away from her in the thin blankets.

She laughed, yanking the covers off. "Personally, I thought it was kinda cute."

"If by 'cute', you mean 'embarrassing as hell', then yes, you're right. Very cute."

"Don't be mad at him, he can't help it," she grinned. "You coming to breakfast? I normally would never let any of you weirdos into my house, but I guess I could make an exception for you guys…"

Her offer reminded me that I had not eaten in what felt like forever. "_Hell_ yes!" I whooped, launching out of bed.

"The invitation was for Kaita, Kari, Dawn and Dusk _ONLY_. What are _you_ _guys_ doing here?"

Lucy was yelling at Natsu (who was shoveling food into his mouth like nobodies business), Gray (who was shirtless and lounging on the bed), and Erza (who appeared to be going through Lucy's underwear drawer). Of course, they ignored her.

Happy was chatting with Llana, Dusk was tapping out a tune on the table with his finger, Dawn was fishing through some papers in Lucy's desk, and Kaita was throwing knives (she keeps at least one set in her shoes), aiming for Llana's tail.

I facepalmed. _Well._ _This going to be an interesting meal._

"So, you're _saying_... that's a _dog_?" I said skeptically. It looked like a miniature snowman with paws.

The weird thing blinked. "Punpunpunpun."

"Actually, a celestial spirit," Lucy corrected. "His name is Plue."

"Punpunpun!" Plue nodded in agreement.

Dawn was staring at the thing in awe. "A celestial spirit?"

"Yep." Lucy held out her key ring. "Each one has a key, and I use the keys to open the gates to the celestial world..."

She explained how celestial magic worked, then proceeded to show off her other gate keys.

"And this is Loke's," she said, pointing at a gold key with a little hook-shaped rune on it. "He's the Lion."

Kaita squinted, grinning slightly. "Wait... isn't that the one you used last night...?"

I kicked her under the table. "I have no idea what she's talking about," I said, glaring at Kaita. She giggled.

Dawn was completely obsessed with the keys. "That's so cool! Can you show me how you... call them, and stuff?"

"Maybe later...?" Lucy said, looking a little weirded out at Dawn's interest.

Dawn grinned happily, lost in thought.

Dusk yawned. "Please pass the stringy purple things."

I sighed. "Dusk, I'm pretty sure those are vegetables..."

"Yeah, that's a type of fish," Lucy coughed.

"Ehehehe..." I laughed innocently. "I knew that."

"Did not," Natsu said, still shoveling food into his mouth.

I arranged some mushy stuff onto my spoon, aiming it like a catapult at the annoying dragonslayer, and fired. The globular mess landed square in the middle of his forehead.

"Hey! What the...?" Natsu's hand went to his forehead, smearing sticky crap all over the place, while Happy and Kaita giggled.

I laughed too, and Erza suddenly looked up at me, an odd look on her face.

"What?" I asked, suddenly irritated.

She smiled slightly. "That's the first time I've heard you laugh," she said quietly.

There was a long, awkward silence, where no one said anything.

"Who are you guys? Seriously," Gray said finally, setting down his food and resting his chin in his hand. "it's time you spilled the beans."

The twins exchanged nervous glances, Kaita frowned, and I poked my food with my fork, all appetite lost.

Kaita look up suddenly, and started signing across the table. _Maybe-_

The wizards watched, perplexed. "What...?"

_-if we told them-_

"Is that some kind of magic?" Gray asked apprehensively.

_-they could help us get back home._

I blinked. No matter how much I didn't want to believe her, she actually had a point.

I took a breath. "All right. We'll talk. But, I can't guarantee you'll believe a thing we say."

Kaita grinned. The Fairy Tail mages listened attentively.

"Well, see, we _used_ to be in a city..."

"... And now we're stuck here. The end."

The wizards were speechless when we finished the story. There was a long silence, in which I was expecting them to bust out laughing at any moment.

Instead, Erza shrugged. "I guess it's possible. You may have accidentally got sucked into Fiore from your world, and are experiencing life through the Fiore version of yourselves."

I blinked in confusion. "Wait, what...?"

"Your bodies may have changed, from what you were like in your world, so that you could adjust this place!" Erza said, looking mind-blown. "That would also explain the presence of magic power in previously untrained wizards."

Dawn's hands held up in an attempted to slow things down, she said, "Look, don't you think that maybe you're getting just a little ahead of yourself?"

"They could have just teleported or something." Natsu bit down on a thing that resembled a corn cob, ignoring Dawn.

"Um, I think that maybe..." I tried to say, before getting interrupted again by Erza.

"Whatever happened, you're now stuck in Fiore." Erza paused, perplexed. "Have you experienced any odd sensations since your arrival?"

"Sensations? Like, tingling? Or kind of like a numb feeling?" I asked thoughtfully. _I have been feeling a little off since we got here... _

"That's when Dusk started having hearing problems!" Kaita said suddenly. "It started when we arrived in the alley! He was complaining about how loud it was, remember?"

Dusk looked up. "Say what?"

"That's right!" Dawn added excitedly. "His hearing is enhanced, somehow... Is that what you mean by 'changed'?"

Erza's head tilted. "Possibly. We're still considering what could've happened to your brother to affect his hearing so dramatically."

The twins began chatting excitedly, and Kaita was poking Happy, who had a fish stuffed in his mouth. Erza was lost in thought, staring intently at Dusk. Natsu had finally stopped eating, and was arguing with Gray, who's shirt and pants had taken a leave of absence (again).

Something was still nagging at me. I frowned.

Lucy noticed. "Kari? What's wrong?"

"Is there any way we can get back home?"

Silence.

Lucy struggled to reply. "Um... I don't know if that's possible or not, see, we'd have to look into it further..."

My frustration was building. I was trying not to show it, but I knew it would escape, sooner rather than later. _Exit, stage left. _

I was determined not to storm out like the last time, though.

"I'm just gonna go get some fresh air," I said, in only a slightly strangled voice. "I'll be right back."

"I'm coming with you." Kaita said immediately.

I was about to protest, when she prodded my shoulder, saying, "No way are you getting out of this one. I'm now your official escort. We don't want a repeat of last night, now do we?"

"What happened last night?" The twins asked simultaneously, eyes narrowed.

"Nothing," I replied hastily, while Kaita smirked. "Nothing happened."

I quickly dragged Kaita out the door with me, before the twins could ask any awkward questions.

"What is your _problem_?" Kaita asked, exasperated, once we were out of earshot. "You're being a killjoy again."

"I want to go home."

She frowned. "That's why you were at the alley last night, weren't you? You were looking for a way back to where we were before."

I didn't reply, which was all the answer she needed.

"That was a stupid idea, Kari. You could've got... hurt, or worse," Kaita growled, eyes narrowed. "I'm still mad, by the way."

I blinked. I had expected her to be pissed, but not _this_ pissed.

_This is not going to end well._

"Why do you want to go home, anyway?" She asked suddenly, gesturing angrily in the general direction of the alley. "There's nothing there!"

I tensed. _Now_ she was pissing _me_ off_._ "How can you even _say_ that? Your _family_ is back there! You left them behind when you jumped in the lake, remember?"

Kaita froze. All the anger drained from her face, and she became a statue. "Actually, I left them behind a long time ago," she said coldly.

I flinched. _Kaita always gets like this when someone brings up her life before she ran away._ It wasn't like her, and it scared me. A lot.

"Besides, what do you know about family?" She asked, emotionless. "You don't have any."

I paused in shock. Then, it was my turn to go cold. "You're right. I don't."

I calmly turned on my heels and walked away.

* * *

**Kari and Kaita play-fight a lot, but shit just got****_ real._**** :/**

**Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8: Llana's Advice

**Kari: Wow, Llana actually does something useful and non-selfish for once! *mindblown***

**Llana: *glares* You owe me. **

**here's Chapter 8:**

* * *

POV Kaita

_I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have said that._

I repeatedly hit my forehead against the wall._ Stupid. _

_I really, really shouldn't have said that. _I sat up. _She's gonna be so mad at me. What should I tell her? I should probably go apologize..._

_I just wish she hadn't brought up... _

**"****... Also, three bodies were found in the house. Testing shows they were relatives of the girl..."**

_Damn flashbacks. _I whimpered, trying to stay in the present. _Please...__not right now..._

_I gotta remember this: however unpleasant my current situation is, there's always memory to remind me just how bad it gets._

POV Dusk

"Oh Kaaaiiitaaaaa..."

I poked her back. She was shivering. "Hey, are you...?"

She sat up quickly, strands of hair floating from the static, glaring with her weird golden eyes. "What do you want?"

"Not much," I tilted my head slightly. _Okay...?_

"Leave me alone."

I poked her again. "Oh, come on. I could hear you guys fighting during breakfast."

"What?" She gaped at me. "No way. We were all the way out by the..." She trailed off.

I tapped my headset, which was made out of the most soundproof material she could find. It obviously wasn't very effective, seeing as I now had super-hearing.

"I still can't believe you can even hear through that thing," she snorted.

Fidgeting, I looked away. "I can do some other weird stuff, too." _Why am I telling this to anyone...? Oh well, I hate secrets, after all..._

She blinked.

With a sigh, I placed my palm on the wall, focusing on my heartbeat. And Kaita's, which I could also hear just fine.

After a moment, I could feel a vibration through the cot, and then a soft beat pulsating through the room.

Her eyes widened. "Wait, are you doing that?"

In reply, I frowned in concentration, and the vibration got to the point where the cot rattled. I could hear a familiar tune, one of my favorite songs, echo softly through the headset.

She jumped up off the rattling cot. "Holy crap. That's... weird," she stared at me curiously. "When did you learn to do that?"

I took my hand off the wall, and the sound faded. "It was an accident. I was just tapping out a tune with my finger, stuff happened, and..." I shrugged. "Who cares? Back to our original subject."

She sighed. "Look, I said some stuff I shouldn't have said, while I wasn't really... focusing on the conversation. Now, I'm afraid she's gonna eat me or something when I go to apologize."

I snorted. "Oh, come on. You've known Kari for longer than Dawn and I have, and we both know that Kari may get angry quickly, but she never stays mad. Plus, she's too forgiving for her own good." I laughed.

Kaita looked guilty when I said _forgiving_, but the moment passed so quickly, I figured I had imagined it.

"Yeah, I guess you've got a point there. Her bite's worse than her bark," she said, unconvinced.

I rolled my eyes. "Other way around." _She always mixes those up. Oh, Kaita..._

She grinned, all signs of her depression disappearing behind her regular, slightly ditzy self. "Oh yeah. Right. I knew that."

POV Kari

**"****Why do you want to go home, anyway? There's nothing there!"**

_Grr._

_How can she just say something like that?_

**"****Besides, what do you know about family? You don't have any."**

I punched the tree again. It was a little painful, but I was still fuming._ Stupid. Tree. Stupid. Kaita. Stupid. Irresponsible. Abandoning. Parents. Ugh!_

"What did the tree do to deserve that?"

I growled. "Go away, cat."

Taking that as an invitation to stay (of course), Llana landed lightly on my head. "Why do you hate cats so much, anyway?"

I felt a pang of guilt for taking my anger out on the winged feline, _no matter how annoying she is_. "I have no problem with cats. It's just that... I'm not used to... flying, talking ones."

"Better get used to it, buster." She grinned. "You're in a whole different world now."

"I noticed." Scowling, I punched the tree again.

Llana snorted. "You don't seem much of a tree fan, either."

"I punch things when I'm mad," I glared, willing her to get the point.

"Remind me to be out of arms reach when I piss you off, then," she relocated herself to the ground, curling up and licking herself.

"Funny. Very funny," I punched the tree again, harder this time. A dent was slowly forming in the trunk.

Llana smirked. "So, what made you mad enough to beat up a tree?"

I frowned, taking a seat next to the annoying talking cat. "Something someone said."

"Oh, you mean the fight you had with Kaita?"

"_What...?_ Can anyone get any _privacy_ around here?" I started yanking grass out of the forest floor, frustrated.

"Nope. Not when you have a flying cat for a stalker," she said cheerfully.

"I hate you."

"I know." She sounded smug, which just added to my anger.

My emotions were scattered all over the place. And I'm pretty sure you've figured out how totally great I am at dealing with emotions.

"This is stupid," I ranted childishly. "You're stupid. Stupid, crazy-"

The cat grinned. "You're the one having a discussion with a talking cat."

"Touche." I sighed in defeat. "What should I do then, besides have a discussion with a talking cat?"

Llana was silent for a few seconds. Then, "You two make a good pair. I wouldn't screw things up by being mad at her," Llana noted quietly. "Kaita's glad to have you around."

I closed my eyes.

**The waves crashed against the shore, the noise accentuated by the heavy rain that drenched everything. I stumbled, hugging my arms against the freezing wind.**

**"****You look cold."**

**I turned around, glaring through my wet navy-blue bangs, the ones people stared at when I walked by. Jerks. They have no idea what it's like living on the street at age 8, with no parents.**

**Through the fog and wind, I could see there was a girl standing behind me. She looked to be about my age. Her hair was a light silver/blue, and her eyes glowed gold in the storm. The cloak she wore whipped around in the strong, wet ocean gusts.**

**Despite the weather, the girl was smiling cheerfully as she followed me along the beach.**

**"****Look, if you're here to steal my food, I don't have any," I snapped, walking faster against the stinging wind.**

**"****Hungry?" I could hear her quiet voice, ringing clear through the sounds of the angry skies.**

**I turned back around, surprised. Before I could reply, she handed me some slightly soggy bread.**

**I stared. "Is this... can I really have it?" I was starving; I hadn't eaten in several days.**

**She smiled. "Only if you let me come with you. I need someone who knows their way around."**

**_Smart girl. I like._**** Without a word, I took the bread, handing her the bigger half. **

**"****What's your name?" I asked curiously.**

**Grinning impishly, she replied, "Kaita. And you are...?"**

I opened my eyes again, smiling a little at the memory.

Then my smile faded as my anger flooded back. "She pissed me off. It's not my fault I don't have a family." I muttered bitterly, hugging my legs.

Llana watched me for a second, then gazed back at the guild.

I scowled. "_What? _Stupid cat, acting all-"

"Some words of advice, my dear Kari." Getting up to leave, she extended her wings, and turned back to me once more with a grin.

"Sometimes what your looking for is right in front of you, and you're just too blind to see it."

I watched as she flew away, towards the guild. It took me a few seconds to figure out was she was talking about.

_A family, huh?_

Smiling, I rose, ready to return to Fairy Tail.

POV Kaita

"Kari? What did you do to your hand?"

I looked up sharply, relieved. I hadn't been able to find her anywhere, and I was starting to wonder if she had gone back to the alley or something.

Kari blushed. "I... uh... punched... a tree...?" she mumbled, flexing her fingers and staring at the ground.

Mira sighed. "Are you trying to hurt yourself?" She reached for Kari's injured hand.

Kari leaped backwards. "NO. _TOUCHING_," She snapped.

"Alright, alright," Mira said with a sigh, "at least change out of those clothes. You've been wearing them forever without washing them _once_."

Erza piped up. "And when's the last time you took a bath? You're just like Natsu and Gray."

Kari looked horrified at the comparison. "I am _nothing_ like those two obnoxious boys."

The few guild members present laughed.

Right on cue, the twins appeared out of nowhere.

"Well, you and Kaita _are_ always sparring..." Dawn said casually.

"... and it's very entertaining to watch," Dusk finished, snickering.

Kari glared at them, then saw me watching from the stairs leading to the basement, and tensed.

"I'm going to take a nap," she said, heading straight for me.

POV Kari

"I'm really, really sorry." Kaita fidgeted, scowling at the floor.

I sighed. "Kaita, it's okay. We were both mad, and I shouldn't have gone and made a fool out of myself in the alley. I'm glad you and Lucy came to save my ass." I grinned. "There. No more apologizing, okay?"

I reached out to shake her hand in a truce, before realizing that it was the messed up one that I had been punching the tree with. There was a little blood and torn skin, nothing much to gawk at. You couldn't even see the bone_._

Of course, she got all fussy and displeased. "You must have been pretty pissed to scrape up your hand like that."

I switched hands without replying.

She pushed it away, upset. "You can punch me, if you want. I know that I made you really mad earlier, and I just want you to know that it won't happen again and-"

Before she could finish, I hugged her. "Dude, it's okay. I'm not going to punch you."

After a moment, she gave in. "Thanks."

With impeccable timing, a certain pink-haired idiot busted the door in.

"TIME FOR TRAINING!" He shouted cheerfully.

I spun, getting annoyed again. "I say again, can't people get _any_ privacy around here? I mean, _really_."

Erza, Gray, Lucy, Makarov, and the twins followed shortly through the now-empty door frame.

Gray smacked Natsu upside the back of his head. "Idiot. You didn't need to break the door down."

Natsu turned to him, rubbing the back of his head angrily. "Who asked you?"

All it took was one glare from Erza, and they both stopped bickering immediately.

"She's scary," Dawn whispered to Dusk, leaning away.

Dusk nodded, with a small shudder.

Makarov grinned. "Okay, now that we've found Kari, it's time to start your training."

We waited nervously.

"First things first; Dusk, any new developments in your hearing ability?"

He squirmed, avoiding everyone's gaze. "No."

"You're a really bad liar, you know that?" Natsu said, leaning in with a scowl.

Dusk relented. "Well, my _hearing_ hasn't changed..."

Suddenly, I could feel the floor start to pulsate, like a giant heartbeat.

"Whoa!" I poked his shoulder. "Are you doing that?"

The pulsating stopped. "I can sort of send out sound waves, and it makes things vibrate," Dusk said finally. "At least, I think that's what's going on..."

"He keeps doing it in his sleep," Dawn whined. "The bunk starts to feel like an electric massager on full blast. Not very comfortable."

Erza frowned, a common expression of hers. Then, she looked up. "Dusk, you go with Natsu and Gray."

The two Fairy Tail wizards didn't appear to like that at all.

"But why do I have to be with _this_ guy?" They both complained simultaneously, then glared daggers at each other.

Dusk didn't look to eager, either.

"Try not to let them kill each other, okay?" Lucy said dryly.

Dusk glanced at the two, who were on the verge of a battle to the death (again).

He sighed. "Not making any promises."

Kaita coughed. "Excuse me, but I was wondering if, maybe, either of you knew who's this was...?"

She held out a little silver key, with a weird symbol on it.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Is that a gate key? Where did you find _that_?"

Kaita shifted uncomfortably. "While I was looking for Kari, I found it behind some boxes, over there in the corner..." she trailed off.

Makarov, Lucy, and Erza gave her pointed looks.

Kaita went defensive. "I didn't steal it or anything, seriously! It's not like I have a _use_ for it."

Makarov scowled.

Kaita sighed. "Well, do you want it back or not?"

"I don't recognize it. Lucy?"

Lucy looked up from the silver key. "Yeah?"

"You take Dawn, and see if that spirit has a contract. If not, Dawn can keep it."

The twin beamed. "Seriously? Like, I can be a celestial wizard?"

"Don't get your hopes up," Makarov warned. "It could be contracted to another wizard."

She ignored him, excitement lighting her pastel-green eyes.

Kaita tossed the key to Lucy, and she and Dawn left, Dawn fistpumping and doing a weird little dance on the way out.

Dusk sighed. "I guess I should get going, too." He walked up the stairs, dragging the fighting Natsu and Gray along with him.

That left Kaita and I.

Erza grinned. "Kaita, how would you like to do learn to fight with a sword?"

"Thought you'd never ask!" Kaita laughed evilly.

"I'll go with you guys," I said, not wanting to get involved in anything. "Not like I have any magical crap going on anyway."

Erza studied me for a few moments. Then, she smiled mysteriously.

"I think you'll find that you've got a lot more going on than you think."

* * *

**Oh-kaaay, Erza's being creepy.**

**YAY! FRIEND DRAMA OVER! ^^ *does wiggle dance* It's mostly action from here on out! (Mostly; there may be fluff.) And what's with Kaita and her past, anyway? (Can you say PTSD?)**

**Yeah I couldn't figure out how to put spaces between paragraphs, so i just put ~~~~~~~ between time skips. :/ Technological fail, I am.**

**Anyway, Dusk almost blows up the guild next chappie!**

**REVIEW! :3**


	9. Chapter 9: Explosive Farts?

**Sorry this wasn't updated as soon as I'd hoped, updates will be fewer and more far between the closer we get to the start of school. :/**

**Okay, I STILL couldn't figure out how to put a space between paragraphs, so i put "-TS-" for a time skip instead. Hopefully it works this time. xD**

**Chapter whatever chapter this is:**

* * *

POV Kari

Kaita was actually pretty good.

"Yes, Kai, just like that," Erza said patiently, totally rocking her role as "sensei".

Kaita smiled fiercely, swinging the sword in a viscous arc, slicing at her teacher. Erza blocked it easily, as was expected, but it was still a harsh attack.

Slash after slash, and Kaita didn't even look tired. I knew from experience that daggers and other metal weapons are a lot heavier than they look, and the thick training sword was no exception.

After a few minutes of intense fighting, Erza called a break. Her skin shined with sweat and her breath came heavily.

Kaita was watching her sword tip shine in the afternoon light, smiling obliviously. _She does like shiny things..._

Erza smiled. "You're pretty good. Are you sure you're not tired?"

"Whaddaya mean?" Kaita asked, swinging her sword randomly at invisible enemies. "I'm not tired."

I snorted. "Well, she has stamina. That's good, right?"

Erza sheathed her sword, hands on her hips. "She's also not bad at the actual fighting part, either. She could probably hold her own against most enemies. I'm impressed."

Kaita giggled, holding her sword out in front of her, running around in circles.

"If she doesn't impale herself first," Erza added dryly.

I smiled as I watched Kaita slaughter an innocent butterfly.

"Nah, she'll be fine."

** -TS-**

POV Dawn

_I can't believe I'm actually doing this!_

"So, can you show me how to call the spirit?" I asked nervously, taking a calming breath.

Lucy smiled, tossing me the key. "Sure. Now, repeat after me..."

She didn't get the chance to finish because as soon as it hit my fingertips, they key flashed, and a golden magic circle appeared out of nowhere.

I yelped, leaping away from the golden light, almost dropping the key.

Lucy looked shocked. "No way! You didn't even try to call it...? I can't even do that!"

"I didn't mean to, I swear!" I watched the golden circle, wide-eyed, as a figure appeared.

A fully armored knight appeared, a silver chain whip attached to his waist. He was extremely tall and intimidating, and towered over Lucy and I. We couldn't see his face, but he sounded very angry.

"Who are ye' to call I, Silver Chain, from the key which holds the Gate of the Knight?" He boomed, voice echoing over the trees.

I stuttered. "U-uh..."

Lucy smiled charmingly. "Hello, my name's Lucy, and this is my apprentice, Dawn. We were wondering which wizard you were contracted to?"

"I am not currently contracted to any Celestial Wizard," the spirit replied lightly, angry appearance suddenly vanishing into thin air.

After the fear and confusion dissipated, I seriously almost hugged him. _Hell yeah! _

Lucy clapped her hands. "Perfect. In that case, my apprentice wishes to make a contract. Are you free Mondays?"

**-TS-**

POV Dusk

I sighed. "Look, guys, demonstrating fire and ice magic isn't going to teach me how to use... whatever I'm doing. It's different, okay?"

Natsu snorted. "See, Gray? He's saying your ice crap is useless."

"No, that is _not_ what he said, and you know it!" Gray replied angrily, glaring at the dragonslayer.

I facepalmed. "Gray. Your clothes."

"_Wha..._?" He looked down, to see his clothes were missing. Again.

"How does this keep happening...?" Gray cursed, and Natsu laughed hysterically.

"Hey guys!" Happy flew in, the fish in his mouth muffling his voice.

I ignored them, crouching to rest under a tree. _Looks like I'll be teaching myself today..._

Closing my eyes, Ilet my train of thought wander off the tracks.

_Every living thing has it's own rhythm. Maybe I can tap into that and do something with it?_

I expanded my hearing, picking up the sound waves emitted from everything around me, until I could sense all through the forest, Magnolia Town, and the guild, which was only a few paces away.

_The guild members, drinking profusely. Chattering conversation. Laughter._

I could also hear my own heartbeat, and my breath.

_In... out... in... out..._

_Swords clashing._ I mentally scanned the forest. _Wind in the trees. Animal calls. Water. A waterfall._

_In... out... in... out..._

_Magnolia Town. The market. People talking. Footsteps on the pavement. Bartering and shouting._

_In. Out. _

My heartbeat was loud in my ears, like waves crashing against the the noises started to mash together, like an orchestra of second-graders, but somehow I was able to see the patterns, the beat. _Yes, there's a beat. It's everywhere!_

I opened my eyes.

_In... _

Taking a final breath, I gathered the combined force of the sound waves and magnified it through my hands, thrusting it into the earth under me.

_… __out._

**_-TS-_**

POV Kari

An explosion rang out above the trees, making the ground shake, then suddenly, all went silent.

Kaita and Erza immediately stopped sparring. "What was that?" Erza glanced back towards Fairy Tail, alarmed. "Is someone attacking the guild?"

"Maybe it was just an explosive fart!" Kaita said cheerfully.

"An explosive...? Where did _that _come from?" I asked, staring at her in confusion.

"Well, that must have been it, because no one in their right mind would attack Fairy Tail," she said, like it was obvious.

Erza didn't look convinced. "Natsu probably broke something again." She set off towards the source of the explosion, and the guild. "Let's go clean up his mess."

** -TS-**

We found the 20-foot diameter crater, as well as scattered chunks of dirt and grass, behind the guild. A tree, previously normal and healthy, had been ripped from it's roots, and lay quite a few feet away from it's original location.

Fairy Tail wizards had gathered to see what happened, and assess the damage. The crater ended mere inches from the guild.

"Oh, boy. Were Gray and Natsu fighting _again_?" The blue-haired girl, Levy, laughed lightly.

Makarov just stared in horror at the mess behind his guild.

A very bedraggled-looking Natsu sat up, groaning and shaking the dirt out of his hair.

"What happened...?" Then he saw the explosion site, and the angry faces of Erza and Makarov, and started backing away. "No, wait! It wasn't me this time! Honest!"

Happy flew down, landing on Natsu's head. "It was Dusk! He just punched the ground, and then-"

"Did someone say my name?" Dusk asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. He was lying at least 10 feet from the edge of the crater, among some randomly strewn debris.

Erza glared, and Makarov continued to gaze in intense dismay at the gaping hole in the ground.

"Ehehehe..." Dusk laughed nervously, realizing what he'd done. "Oops."

"What the hell was that, a bomb?"

Dawn appeared, followed my Lucy and a... _knight...?_

"Um... I kinda..." Dusk said, gesturing hopelessly at Natsu, Gray, and the crater.

Dawn stared in shock at the gaping hole. "How did you even _do_ that?"

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." Dusk shuffled his feet, avoiding everyone's gaze. Despite his love of music and dancing, he never liked being the center of attention; and like me, he hated being stared at.

"What's with _that_ guy?" Kaita asked, watching the knight like it was a stalker or something.

Dawn grinned proudly. "Oh, him? He's my very first celestial spirit."

"Uh, he's your _only_ celestial spirit," Dusk said dryly.

Makarov was still gazing in horror at the crater, but Erza grinned. "So, the contracting was a success? Good."

Dawn was beaming. Dusk gagged.

Erza turned to him, smile turning into her trademark look of disapproval and anger. "You, on the other hand, have made a huge mess."

Silence. Dusk nervously awaited his punishment.

Suddenly, she smiled, mussing his hair. "Yeah, you're gonna fit in perfectly."

The guild members laughed as Dusk scowled indignantly, trying in vain to re-flatten his hair.

I couldn't help it. I smiled slightly, then started laughing too.

_Maybe this place isn't so bad after all._

** -TS-**

When everyone returned inside, the first thing I noticed was a cluster of guild members in front of the jobs board, talking excitedly amongst their teams.

"... kids missing, huh?..."

"... presumed dead..."

"... shady characters, no surprise..."

"... but 1,000,000 jewels? That's a pretty good haul for one job!"

"... wait, who's the client? It just says, 'Mary'..."

Dusk leaned over to Dawn. "What, is there a big job on the boar?"

"Sounds like there's been a kidnapping or something." Dawn shrugged.

The twins headed downstairs, arguing about Dawn's new celestial spirit.

_I guess a lot of weird things have been happening around here lately. _

I frowned at the board for a moment, speculating. _Like world-teleporting teenagers, for instance. Missing kids, huh?_

Then shrugged, returning to our sleeping quarters for the night, disappearing into the basement.

_Meh. Not my problem._

If only I could be so lucky.

* * *

**Well, there's the twins' "magical crap" for ya. That makes 2/4 (swordfighting doesn't count as magical ability lol) ^^**

**The other 2 are a bit more... unexpected. Yeah, I'll just go with that.**

**REVIEW! :D**


	10. Chapter 10: Truth or Dare

**This is going to be a weird chapter, I warn you ahead of time. The next one will make more sense. ^^**

**Oh, and instead of "-TS-" it is now just a line. I can't believe I didn't do that earlier. *facepalm***

**Chapter 10:**

* * *

POV Kari

"You guys awake?"

Dusk moaned. "Am now," he replied, glaring at his twin sister in annoyance.

She sighed, ignoring him. "Well, that was an interesting day."

Kaita giggled and bounced on her cot, making the entire bunk (I was on the top) shake violently.

"What the hell are you _doing_?" I squealed, almost falling off.

She giggled again. "Making sure you're awake, duh."

"Why am I on the top bunk, anyway? I'm the one who's scared of heights," I whined, clinging to the bar on the edge of my bed. "Don't do that anymore!"

She peered up at me from the bottom bunk. "Not my fault this thing is so unsturdy," she said innocently.

"Unsturdy isn't even a word," I replied dryly.

"Is now!" she retorted.

Dawn interrupted from the twins' bunk. "You guys are acting like Natsu and Gray again..."

"We don't even _begin_ to compare with those two freak jobs!" I sputtered indignantly, while Kaita howled with laughter.

Dusk rolled his eyes. "Right. And I'm a flying, talking cat."

"Watch it, buddy." Llana growled, awakening from her slumber on Kaita's pillow.

Annoyed, I attempted to change the subject. "I can't sleep."

"Neither can I," Dawn agreed.

Kaita bounced again, up on all fours, hair sticking out everywhere. "I know! We can play a game!"

"Please, no," I moaned, falling back against the bed. "I'm not playing."

Of course, they ignored me. "How about Truth or Dare?" Dawn suggested.

"I'll go first," Kaita said. "Dusk. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Okay. Do you think Sasquatch is real?"

He turned, looking weirded out. "What kind of question is that?"

"One you didn't answer," she replied.

He sighed. "Uh, sure, I guess. I mean, if wizards and shit are real, then why not Sasquatch? Dawn. Truth or dare?"

"I pass."

"Buzzkill," he snorted, turning to Kaita again. "Truth or dare?"

She grinned boldly. "Dare."

"Alright." He smirked. "I dare you to replace all of Cana's booze with water."

"Challenge accepted!"

I snorted. "That's a wonderful plan. You guys are idiots."

"Your point?" Dusk asked.

"Uh, she's going to kill your ass?"

Kaita giggled. "Kari. Truth or dare?"

I considered. "Truth." _Truth is safe, right?_

"Okay," she said slowly. After a few seconds, "What scares you the most?"

I paused in thought. "If I answer this, then everyone else has to answer, too."

Dawn and Dusk nodded. "Fair," they said simultaneously.

Kaita tensed.

"Well..." I thought about it. "There's a lot of things that scare me."

Everyone waited. I squirmed uncomfortably.

"Heights." I finally said, knowing that wasn't what scared me the most, but whatever.

"I hate spiders," Llana said with a shiver. "Nasty little things."

"Those dogs that chased us off the dock. Those things were dead scary," Dawn added.

"Pain." Dusk's voice drifted from the twins' bottom bunk. "Pain is very scary."

We all thought about that for a while.

"I think we're all afraid of pain," I said, turning towards the wall. "And death."

Silence.

"But what scares me even more than my own," I whispered. " is the death of those around me, the ones I care about. That's what scares _me_ the most."

The silence continued. The room's atmosphere had gone from playful to grim in less than a minute.

Dawn's voice sounded in the darkness. "Kaita? What about you? What are you afraid of?"

I suddenly realized that Kaita had said nothing this whole time.

"I don't want to talk about it," she snarled, sounding like a totally different person. "_Goodnight._"

_Kaita went cold again. _I curled up under the blankets, trying to sleep. _Yet another thing that scares the living shit outta me._

* * *

POV Kaita

I had that dream again.

The one that isn't really a dream, but comes to me in my sleep. I can't remember if it's completely real or not. It's definitely _based_ on reality.

_The past is very real, after all. In my case, much too real._

I probably shouldn't have brought up that question, _worst fears_.

Because to me, simply answering the question is fear itself.

**_Fire._**

**_Fire, fucking everywhere._**

**I glanced around, wide-eyed and scared. My lungs were burning. ****_No way out._**

**The flames danced around me, playful and mocking. ****_I have to get out! Escape!_**

**_RUN!_**

**I tried to run, tripping on air, breathing heavily in the smoke. The flames had faces, ones I knew all too well.**

**They were angry at me, they would kill me, they were coming to get me. ****_No way out._**

**Somewhere in my mind, I knew it was just a dream. It already happened. I'm not dying, technically.**

**I would survive, escape the flames. I would find a way out.**

**And yet, in a way, I never would.**

**I'd always be lost in the endless, mocking flames. I'd always see the hateful faces.**

**_Maybe this is what hell's like?_**

**They hated me, all right, those faces. ****_I know exactly how they feel._**

**We both hate me for the same reason.**

**Kind of ironic, really.**

**Kari loves running. I shouldn't have run.**

**Stay or go, either way, I'd be trapped forever.**

**_There's no way out._**

* * *

POV Kari

I didn't quite remember my dream from last night, but tonight, I _did_ remember my dream, and somehow I knew it was the same one. It doesn't make much sense, but the dream definitely matches the theme of _worst fears_.

Did I say dream?

I'm sorry, I meant _nightmare._

**I'm with the twins. We're surrounded by an endless stone floor that disappears into blackness. It's cold.**

**We're afraid. I don't know why. I don't know where Kaita is, either.**

_**The missing kids. This is where the missing kids are, I know that. I need to find-**_

**For some reason, I start shouting for us to turn back. But before we can do anything, someone approaches us.**

**A girl. She looks maybe 12, with long violet hair and a ratty t-shirt over jeans. The logo on the tee says, "The Dancing Marionettes". A necklace gleams around her neck, a beautiful crescent moon.**

_**Where I have seen that symbol before?**_

**I realize she's watching me. **_**There's something wrong with her. **_**My heart starts to beat faster. **_**The way she smiles, it's not looks like a ghost. A crazy, killer grudge-style ghost.**_

_**I need to get us of here.**_

**But I can't leave. There's something I need. I don't know what it is. **_**The missing kids? A way home?**_

**The girl starts to laugh.**

**Her eyes are a deep, bloody red.**

**Suddenly, the scene changes. We're out in the air, though, and every breath turns my lungs to ice. It's dark.**

**I'm alone.**

_**No, wait. There's someone... God, is that... Dawn...? No!**_

**Dawn's limp body is pressed against the wall, someone's hands at her throat, choking the life out of her.**

**For all I know, she could be dead already. I struggle to reach her.**

_**Dammit,I can't move!**_**My heart skips a beat, fear paralyzing me, like being attacked in the alley. But this time, the fear was a million times worse. **_**Who is that? I can't see their face!**_

_**STOP! Please... **_**I'm screaming at the attacker, but the girl can't hear me.**

**Everyone's gone. I'm alone. Dawn is either dying, or already dead.**

_**And I can't do anything but stand and watch.**_

**The scene changes again.**

**Now it is truly dark, and I am truly alone. The floor is wet and sticky, and gleams feverishly in the light that isn't there. Everything seems dreamlike, unreal. Like a movie. A scary, rated R horror movie.**

**Unlike the previous scene, I can't sense my emotions.I could be happy, sad, angry. ****_I don't know._**** I know I feel something.**

_**And I'm pretty sure it's fear.**_

**I realize I can hear something distantly, like a plea for help. I glance around, looking for the source of the voice.**

**It's asoft, tortured whisper. Three words ring with insanity, over and over, echoing in the blackness.**

**"**_**I killed them. I killed them. I killed them."**_

**And the telltale glint of a knife, right in front of me. Someone's there.**

**I flinch away, and almost slip.**

_**What's on the floor?**_** I look down quickly. And immediately wished I hadn't.**

_**Blood.**_

**My stomach lurched. **_**Oh my God, it's everywhere. **_**I couldn't feel any emotions, but I definitely felt sick to my stomach.**

**But that wasn't the worst thing about the nightmare. Not even close.**

**Bodies. Three of them.**

**One, I recognized.**

**A girl with silver-blue hair and golden eyes.**

**And a slit throat.**

**I screamed.**

"-ari? Are you okay?"

I shot upwards out of my bunk and almost banged my head on the ceiling. "Ah! My God..."

Erza had climbed the ladder to the upper bunk. I could just see her face, watching me curiously. I was breathing heavily, and my choppy blue bangs were cemented to my forehead from sweat.

"You screamed," she said, annoyed. "Twice. Very loudly."

I flushed. "Uh, sorry, I had a bad dream. Did I wake anyone up?"

"Who would've been asleep? Besides you," she said dryly. "It's past noon."

"You're kidding! Where are the twins?" I jumped out of bed, too-big sweatshirt hanging lazily off one shoulder and nappy hair sticking out everywhere. "And Kaita?"_Kaita._ My stomach lurched as the dream came back to me.

Erza watched me for a second in that distant, judgmental way of hers. "You don't look too good. You sure you're okay?"

_Just a dream. A really, really bad dream._

"Oh, come on. Who are you, my moth-?" I trailed off. _Actually, she's the closest thing to a mother I've ever had. Well, her and Mira._ I grinned. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good. Now, you still haven't taken a bath, or cleaned your clothes..."

_Yeah. She's a "Mom" character, all right._ I sighed. "Sure. Whatever you say."

As Erza left, I sat in the cot for a moment, thinking through the dream. Nightmare. Freaky demon vision from hell.

Whatever you want to call it, it felt different than a regular dream.

I remembered the violet haired girl; her freaky grin, her red eyes, her moon necklace. _The Dancing Marionettes._

Glancing around, I shivered, suddenly getting that feeling that someone was watching me.

I didn't like the feel of that dream.

_I don't like it at all._

* * *

**Oh, boy. This is starting to get ****_me_**** confused...**

**Writing out Kari's "dream" actually gave me a nightmare. *facepalm* This is why I rarely ever write creepy stuff.**

**And poor Kai-chan has something going on. She wasn't in Kari's "dream"...? And then there's the missing kids, and the freaky red-eyed girl. *shudders* Marionettes. Blegh. I hate puppets, they're creepy. And giant, evil, shape-shifting spiders (but that's another story).**

***koff koff* Aaaaaaaanywaaay, review please! :3**


	11. Chapter 11: Mischievous Little Buggers

**Ah! So ****_busy_****! e_e School starts tomorrow, and I had a bunch of summer homework due... **

**Anyway, next chapter:**

* * *

POV Dusk

"OMG! GUYS! COME LOOK WHAT I FOUND!"

I reflexively clamped my hands over my ears, flinching against the sudden noise. "Kaita! _Quieter_!"

"IT'S A SPRING! WE CAN TAKE A BATH THERE!" She ran around in circles excitedly, sword banging against her hip.

"What'd you have for breakfast, straight caffeine?" Kari said dryly, clamping onto the hyperactive girl's shoulder with her hand.

Kaita stopped running around in circles, and looked up happily. "We should use the spring for a bath. I wonder if it's a secret one that nobodies ever found? That'd be soooooooo cool-"

"Probably not, seeing as we're right next to Fairy Tail," Dawn said dryly, gesturing to the guild hall.

I could hear the water before we even set off after Kaita to find it.

After wandering through the woods, we found two springs. They were separated by a small expanse of forest and a large rock. Surprisingly, they looked untouched.

"Sweet!" Kari whooped. "Let's go borrow some suits or something."

Suddenly, I had an idea. _It sure doesn't take me long to think of ways to entertain myself._

I smirked.

* * *

POV Kaita

"Embarrassing," Kari complained. "There's no one in my size! Lucy's is the closest, and the only one she had that would fit me is really... revealing."

"Chill, Kari," I consoled her. "We're all girls. No biggie."

She scowled. _It's really annoying when she get's all grumpy._  
"Levy's pretty great," I rambled on, trying to get her to lighten up. "She didn't even hesitate to hand over one of her suits. I like Levy. She's nice."

Kari's scowl softened a little. "You know, they're all pretty nice, considering we're a bunch of thieves they were originally supposed to capture and 'bring to justice', or whatever."

"Yeah."

After a few moments of silence, Dawn crashed through the foliage, dressed in a pair of boy's swim trunks and a t-shirt, tied so her stomach was showing.

"I invited Team Natsu to come with us!" She shouted cheerfully. "They'll be down in a second!"

I laughed at the expression on Kari's face. It was as if she had said, "Oh, and by the way? The toilet exploded and splattered shit all over the bathroom, and you get to clean it up. Have fun!"

After following the sound of water, we arrived at the designated "girls spring". To my surprise, Erza and Lucy had already arrived, dressed in swimwear and relaxing in the water.

"Jeez, what took you guys so long?" Erza asked lazily.

Kari sputtered and pointed at them accusingly, "How did you guys get here so fast?"

I smiled, ditching my t-shirt on the edge mid-run, and leaped into the water. My gold-colored two piece fit perfectly, much to my pleasure.

Surfacing, I watched Kari wipe water out of her bright blue eyes. "Kaita! Warn me before you do that next time!"

Giggling, I splashed her.

"You are so going to get it," she said, stripping off her cover-up to reveal a blue one-piece.

"Don't dive, the water's only, like, four feet deep," I giggled.

She scoffed, hands on her hips. "Yeah, I can see that. Whaddaya take me for, stupid?"

I grinned, getting ready to run. "Maybe a little."

We didn't notice Dawn disappear into the woods.

* * *

POV Dusk

I heard Dawn coming.

_Time for a distraction. _"So, what's with the job everyone's talking about?" I asked Gray cheerfully, trying to start a conversation.

Gray shrugged. "It's just signed 'Mary' for one thing. We don't know who the client is."

"But the job's real enough. A bunch of kids went missing," Natsu added.

My twin's familiar face appeared in the trees.

"Hm. What's the goal of the mystery job?" I watched her inch towards her goal silently. I didn't make eye contact, but she knew I knew she was there.

"Find the kids, of course, and figure out who's responsible. Yeah, a pretty average job," Natsu said breezily.

Gray looked a little more worried. "The victims have nothing in common, and there's been no ransom notes or anything... are they looking for a certain child?"

Dawn snatched the pile of fabric quickly, without alerting the other boys. With an impish grin, she vanished back into the forest, and I heard her retreating into the foliage.

_I love messing with people. _I laughed quietly.

Natsu glared. "What're you laughing at, punk?"

I looked back at my companions with a smile. "Nothing. Do continue."

* * *

POV Kari

"I was wondering if you four wanted to come with us tomorrow."

I glanced at Erza warily. "Where are you going?"

"We've got a job planned, and you could see what it's like," Lucy said. "Maybe learn something."

I scoffed. "Not like I can _do_ anything. Kaita? Whaddaya say?"

"Sounds like fun," she said happily. "Do I get to kill something?"

"We shall see," Erza replied.

I settled against the stone (which was surprisingly comfortable) and closed my eyes.

"Wait! Where'd Dawn go?" Lucy said suddenly.

_Holy... how could I have not noticed?_ _Jeez. So much for ringleader._ "She's not here?" I asked worriedly.

Kaita smiled. "She probably went to get something."

"Or prank someone, knowing the twins," I muttered.

I think that's about the time I fell asleep.

**It's dark. It's cold. It's empty. **

**I'm alone.**

I jolted awake, only to find that, yes. I was alone.

_They ditched me? That's just great._ Glancing up at the sun, I figured a few hours had passed since I had last checked.

I got up, wading groggily through the water. _Was I really out that long?And I slept until noon this morning..._

_Time to rejoin the group, I guess._

I glanced down uncomfortably. The swimsuit I was wearing was pretty loose, especially in the, _er,_ chest area, and revealed a little more than I was comfortable with.

Scanning the edge of the spring, I was even more dismayed to find that I couldn't locate my cover-up.

I growled in frustration. _Oh, come on..._

Then, I saw a small bundle of clothing on the shore, in easy reach.

_Huh. Okay..._ Relieved, I unrolled the bundle, examining the fabric.

I paused in confusion, holding the familiar shirt out in front of me.

_Wait, aren't these... Gray's clothes?_

* * *

POV Kaita

I wandered back through the forest, trying to recover the trail Erza, Lucy, and I had used to return to the guild.

We had only left to get some food. Kari was sleeping, and Erza had said she had had a bad night, so we left her alone. _She'll probably be freaked out when she wakes up._

I frowned. _She's not the only one who had a bad night... _

Suddenly, I heard arguing, from the boys spring. I headed in that direction, wanting a distraction from last night's trauma.

_You don't want to dwell on things like that for too long. It really starts to get to you..._

* * *

It was Gray and Natsu. Surprise, surprise.

"I didn't take them, I swear!"

"Sure you didn't! Who else would take them? You think this is funny?" Gray scowled, glaring at Natsu.

Natsu tried to suppress his laughter, but he wasn't doing a very good job. "Maybe a little..."

Dusk was off to the side, smirking like he did when he was anticipating his plan's success. Dawn stood behind him, leaning on his shoulder with a similar expression.

_Three guesses on the ones responsible_, I thought, grinning. _Mischievous little buggers. _

Erza and Lucy walked up behind me, and Llana landed on my shoulder, hiding in my hair.

"What are they fighting about _this_ time?" the cat asked dryly, staring at the two boys with distaste.

Dawn shrugged, smiling like a little angel. "It would appear that someone..."

"... took Gray's clothes," Dusk finished innocently.

We heard someone crashing through the trees.

"I can't _believe_ you guys left me behind! I mean, come on-"

The twins, recognizing Kari's voice, began to giggle.

I was about to ask them what was so funny, when Kari emerged from the tree cover, looking like a drenched cat. Wet and pissed.

Also, I think we found Gray's clothes. They were a little loose on my friend, and a little soaked, but she obviously wasn't picky.

She saw Gray (who was in his underwear), staring at her outfit in surprise, and paused.

An awkward silence ensued, much to the twins' pleasure.

I snorted a little, then started laughing. The perfectly awkward scene had totally caught me off guard.

It had obviously caught poor Kari off guard too, because she reddened. "I... uh... can explain...?"

The guilty party was roaring with laughter.

Kari turned to them accusingly, glaring. "That's it! Prepare to be dead!"

Wisely, they took a quick exit through the trees, laughing hysterically.

"HEY! Get back here, so I can _kill you_!" she chased them into the darkness, waving her arms threateningly.

The rest of us just watched them leave. Then, after a few more seconds of silence, I sighed.

"Well. I better go make sure Kari doesn't _actually_ kill them... On a more interesting note, when's dinner?"

* * *

**I gotta end it here, guys. Again, this school year is going to be reeeaaally busy for me, and I won't have much time for updates. **

**Review! :3 **


	12. Chapter 12: The Twelfth Chapter

**My brain is completely and utterly fried.**

**That is all I am capable of writing right now. **

**Carry on. (._.)**

* * *

**POV Kaita**

Hours later, the twins were still laughing.

And Kari was still seething.

"Oh come on..." Dusk said airily, waving his fork in the air like a king.

"...you gotta admit it was at least a little funny," Dawn finished with a grin.

Judging by the expression on the twins' faces, they thought it was more than a little funny.

Kari glared, stuffing food into her mouth with frightening speed. "You guys have way to much time on your hands."

I was building a tower out of the vibrantly colored food on my plate, when Llana decided she could just come over and steal some of my chicken without asking.

"Hey! Back off, food thief!" I smacked her with my spoon.

She leaped backwards, dodging the swing calmly, chicken leg hanging daintily from her little kitty mouth. "No need to be hasty, Kaita..."

"My _CHICKEN_," I whined to Kari, ignoring the cat. "has been stoled. Can I have some of yours?"

Pausing her feeding frenzy, the older girl encircled her plate with her arms protectively, glaring. "_Stoled_ is not a word, missy."

"I'll take that as a no," I sighed, going back to building my little food castle. "Since when do you eat so much? I mean, you used to eat like five bites, then I'd have to finish it off."

"I'm hungry," she muttered defensively through a mouthful of food.

"I can see that."

Natsu gazed sadly at the empty plate across the counter. "She ate the last of the meat! I only got, like, 7 pieces!"

"That's still a lot for a _normal_ person," Lucy said dryly.

Kari smirked. "Better be faster than that next time, Boku-chan!"

Natsu glared, while Erza watched Kari with that mysterious, annoying look of contemplation.

My friend noticed, glaring at the woman defiantly. "What's _your_ problem?"

Mira also looked like she knew something. She kept glancing at Kari, like one would watch a chicken before slaughter. It was a look I recognized. I giggled.

_Don't tell me... Erza knows what kind of wizard Kari is!_ I grinned mischievously, anticipating a show. _Kari's gonna freak or go into denial, of course. This will be interesting..._

To my surprise, Erza just smiled, gesturing to Kari's cheek. "Nothing. You just have a little something on your face."

Kari scowled, reaching up to wipe her face off. The twins laughed.

I frowned, still watching Erza and Mira suspiciously; their expressions were rather disconcerting.

_What are they thinking about, I wonder?_ I thought, turning back to my plate, only to discover that _all_ my chicken was missing.

Not only that, but my pretty little food castle had been demolished.

A very pleased looking Exceed was trying to sneak out the window while I was distracted.

I leaped out of my chair, pulling my sword out of it's sheath. "Oh no you don't! Nobody destroys _my _castle and gets away with it!"

Realizing I was coming after her, Llana flew out the window, snickering.

As I chased her out the door, I heard Kari's and Dawn's distant voices.

"What castle...?"

"With Kaita? Who knows?"

* * *

**POV Dusk**

Having super hearing can be pretty useful.

For instance, I knew that Makarov, Erza, Lucy, and Mira were having a conversation in the guild hall above us. Their voices were hushed in secrecy, which only piqued my interest. I settled into my cot, picking through the sound waves until I found the ones I was looking for, then began the refined art of eavesdropping.

"They've got some strange stuff going on," Mira whispered. "There are things they can do that they shouldn't be able to do."

"You definitely don't see Dusk's ability every day. He made a crater of that size without practice or anything, and with sound waves alone," Lucy noted. "And Dawn was able to call the spirit just by having the gate key in her hands."

Erza sighed. "Makes you wonder what the other two have in store for us. Do you think it's the fact that they came from somewhere else that makes them special, or more powerful?"

"This could be a problem."

Makarov was worried, I could tell by the dark undertone of his voice.

"It's a good thing that they ended up here."

Erza was catching on. "Such unusual abilities, with no training... they could be used as weapons."

I frowned. _Used? Hell, no. That's not gonna happen again._

"You mean, someone could manipulate them? That's horrible."

Lucy's voice made me focus on the conversation again.

Makarov sounded worried. "Yes. Luckily, _these_ kids are safe here, in Fairy Tail. That's not what I'm worried about."

"_These_ kids?" Lucy asked nervously. "What do you mean by _these_?"

"They said they got transported here on a special festival, correct?"

"Please, just get to the point already," Erza replied, annoyed.

"Maybe it wasn't just a fluke they're here. What if something about that festival linked the two worlds together? Just for a short time?" Makarov said. "What if there were other children at that festival, who happened to be taking a dip in the lake?"

Mira inhaled sharply. "What if there's more of them?"

I blinked. _I didn't even think of that... _

"What if they ended up in a Dark Guild?" Erza said quietly. "If this goes unchecked, we could have a powerful army at the front door at any second."

"What are we gonna do, then?" Lucy said, exasperated.

There was a long silence.

"Come on guys, that's a lot of 'what-ifs'. There can't have been that many kids who ended up here, if any," Mira said hopefully. "Let's just try to help these guys out a little. One step at a time, right?"

Erza sighed. "Well, they're coming with Team Natsu tomorrow, so we'll be keeping them busy... and monitoring any changes in their magical ability, of course."

Around this point, I was starting to get tired. Messing around with the sound waves was eating away at my magic energy. I only had a few seconds before my sight blurred.

"As long as they don't fall in the way during a fight..." Lucy said cheerfully.

My eyes fluttered, and the last thing I heard before I fell asleep was Lucy finish her sentence.

"... or get themselves killed."

* * *

**POV Kari**

_That damn dream again!_  
I rolled over in my cot-like bed, face shoved in the pillow. My hair stuck out everywhere, tickling the sides of my face.

_Well, it wasn't exactly the same, but pretty similar. The Dancing Marionettes girl, the dark, the knife, the blood..._

* * *

_**A weird tattoo of a crescent moon on his wrist shone silver in the darkness.**_

* * *

I shot up, almost banging my head on the ceiling again.

… _the crescent moon._

I realized where I had seen the symbol before.

"Kari! Get your butt up here! It's almost time to go! Geezus, you've already gotten, like, 14 hours of sleep..."

Kaita's call drifted from the guild above.

"Coming!" I shouted back, pretending to re-quip like Erza as I changed clothes at hyper-speed.

* * *

**POV Kaita**

"So... where are we going?"

Kari's question hung like a moldy rag in the silence that was Team Natsu and Team... whoever we are.

"It's a simple job. We are going to be examining an abandoned building for ghosts," Erza said matter-of-factly.

Dusk snorted. "Ghosts."

"Yes, ghosts, weren't you listening?" Erza scoffed. "Come on; it's just down the road."

Dusk stuck his bottom lip out in pouting, but followed anyway.

I shivered. I was feeling really... weird today. I guess the word is apprehensive.

_I'm sure it's just my nerves, though._

_Just. Nerves._

While I was fighting a pointless internal battle, Kari snuck up behind me.

"So, do you think there's actually ghosts?" She asked, voice small with fear. Kari may pull a brave face in front of the little twins, but I knew that the last thing she wanted was to mess around in a haunted house.

"Pssh, yeah!" I rolled my eyes. "That would be so much cooler than a false alarm."

She frowned. "I would prefer a false alarm, thank you... On the other hand, a false alarm _would_ be sucky. I would hate to have pulled my ass out of bed that early for nothing."

"The early worm gets the bird!" I sang.

She sighed, amused. "Other way around, Kaita."

"Oh yeah. Right."

Suddenly, Natsu stopped in front of us, and Dawn's face smashed into his shoulder.

"Hey, what the hell?" She snapped, glaring at an oblivious Natsu. "I'm trying to walk here- whoa."

The building was falling apart, bricks and beams and other supplies lay strewn across the lawn. Plus, it was big. Four or five stories at the least.

"Well," Gray said dryly. "Looks abandoned. Let's get this over with."

We followed Gray through up the front steps, as Erza told us what we were supposed to be doing.

"Stay with Lucy," she ordered. "and if you see something suspicious, notify her immediately."

I yawned. "Geez, lady. You sound like we're going into a war zone or something."

Erza glared.

She was starting to creep me out, so I went defensive.

"Okay, okay. No need to go all psycho killer on me. Geez..."

Satisfied, Team Natsu continued into the creepy broken-down structure.

Once they were out of earshot. Kari grabbed my shoulder. "Let's just go. Sooner we can get this done, the sooner we go home."

I smiled a little.

"Home, huh?"

Realizing her slip of the tongue, she flushed. "Shut up. It's not like we're going back to our real home, anyway."

Then she stomped off after Lucy, who waited patiently by the doorway.

After a few seconds, the twins shrugged simultaneously.

"C'mon, Kaita. This'll be fun."

Even as they skipped away to their possible death by killer ghosts, I couldn't help but smile.

* * *

**I. Am. SO SORRY. I haven't updated in forever. ( ;-;) I currently have a C in Algebra II, and am having a panic attack trying to get it up to an A. So far, not much success. BUT I WILL PERSEVERE! :3 **

**20% COOLER IN 0 TO 8 SECONDS! (This has nothing to do with the subject, but I have always wanted to say it, so there it is. xD Yay~!)**

**Review? Pwetty pwease? *puppy dog eyes***

**~Kari-nyan, out!~**


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